Rise of the Salamander and the Knight
by Xandric123
Summary: Be patient for updates, i'll do everything I can when I have time! Anyways, have fun!))We look at an alternate start to Natsu's interaction with Fairy Tail, where he grew up working for a guild that allied with no one, Dark nor Light, an independent guild that follows its own rules and takes what it wants. However, we'll test exactly how much one can have before it's too much Naza.
1. The Beginning

**_Forest near Magnolia_**

Bright pink hair. That was the first thing that anyone would notice of the strange man who wore a black vest, opened down the middle to expose his chest and abs as the sides fell down to his thighs. Black three-quarter pants swayed loosely in the breeze, the nearly six-foot two inch boy, or man, if you looked at him right, had closed eyes as he walked through the forest. He was muscular, yet he had a lean body that would be the envy of any of the same gender. With each step he got closer to the hell that awaited him, something he swore he would never do unless the circumstances demanded otherwise.

A white scarf hung tightly around his neck, the spare length of the scarf blowing off to the side as he walked in a straight path, avoiding bushes, trees, and the occasional rock with his closed eyes. On his right shoulder a mark glinted in the sun, the dark red scythe mark shined on his shoulder. Sighing, the person seemed rather bored, remembering how he fell for such a stupid job.

_"__Natsu, get your ass to the Master's office! He's got a job for you!" The feminine voice rang out across the old worn down hall of their guild, 'Reaper's Scythe'. It was a name that echoed in the world of Dark Guilds and Legal Guilds alike, neither wishing to have anything to do with this band of mysterious mages. "Shut it Ray! I heard you the first three times!" Natsu roared back, an annoyed look present on his face._

_The brightly pink-haired man now known as Natsu sighed a little bit when he heard no response, already on his way to the back of the old worn down fort to the office of the Master. Not even bothering to knock, Natsu kicked the door open as it nearly flung off its hinges at the force applied behind the kick. "Oi! What you want Lycas?!" The impatience in his voice could be heard by the old man sitting behind his desk, reading a scroll that seemed to take up the majority of his attention._

_"__Sit." That was all that was said as Natsu growled a bit, sitting down on the admittedly comfy chair. This was the way the next few minutes passed, the scroll still taking up Master Lycas's attention until it seemed he finished. Without so much as looking at the pink-haired mage, he started to speak. "Eisenwald has….requested our assistance. It seems they were able to get their hands on one of Zeref's demons, Lullaby." Natsu perked a brow at this information, it getting his attention faster than most because of the chance of a battle. "Hoh…they do now? What are they doing with it?" was the question that came from Natsu's mouth. "They're planning on killing all the Legal Guild masters at their annual meeting this year with the flute."_

_"…__.they do know that it won't be as simple as that, right? I bet a bunch of Guilds already know about that and are going to stop them." Master Lycas nodded as he finally looked to his most trusted member of his guild. "Yes, it won't go so smoothly. That is why they requested the 'Salamander' to be an escort for them." A feral grin found itself on the face of the pink haired man, flames appearing in his eyes as he chuckled. "Why me? Send Atlas to do it, he's strong enough." Lycas shook his head a bit, drawing a confused look from Natsu who was about to speak only to be cut off by a raised hand. Still confused, he decided not to speak and to allow the old man to. "Fairy Tail's Titania is moving to stop them."_

_That was as far as the old man could get in a complete sentence as the room suddenly turned to a blistering temperature. "The Titania huh….I hear she's terrifyingly strong. Alright, I'll go." Lycas sweat dropped a little, he agreed that fast just from hearing that the most feared female mage on the continent was going? Well, he couldn't blame the boy, anyone of his strength would be excited to find someone to fight that could possibly match the dangerous boy. "That was…..simple. They are meeting at a local train station that is connected to the one in Magnolia. You'll be taking one there into the train depot." Lycas covered his ears for what came next. "WHAT?! I REFUSE! I TAKE IT BACK! KEEP ME AWAY FROM THAT THING!" Natsu was yelling, eyes filled with terror at the thought of his only weakness being his main way of transportation. "You already agreed, so the deal is done. You leave in an hour so don't be lazy and get going before I send Shay after you." Natsu shuddered a bit, the blonde-headed stalker girl was too much for his liking, it was hard to creep him out but she did it with relative ease just by being near the boy._

_"__Fine! But if Eisenwald pisses me off they can forget my help!" Commented the towering figure of Natsu. "I wouldn't expect anything less, remember our code, 'Never-". "Never trust, never give, never love. Take everything for yourself, burn what remains." Natsu finished with a maniacal grin as he turned away, walking out of the office as the old man sighed. "May whatever god people believe in not get in his way….I don't need to deal with anymore grief in my old age."_

So here he was, getting on the path to his doom, the train. It wasn't moving for the moment, something he prayed to his father to thank him for. Sitting down, he leaned his head against the back of a seat, closing his eyes until he heard the door open to his cabin.

**_Three hours ago, Magnolia_**

It was a regular day in Fairy Tail, chairs being thrown across the Guild, insults flying, tables being flipped, and knocked out members of the Guild lying around the room in various positions. The roars of laughter and shouting could be heard from outside the building that housed one of the most renowned guilds in the country of Fiore, further solidifying any idea that this guild was indeed quite the noisy bunch. However from down the street a figure could be seen walking towards the guild hall, something massive being carried over their shoulder with objects similar to glass shining in the sun from the reflection. As the figure approached the Guild Hall, a twitch of the eye was noticeable as the figure came closer, showing it to be a red-headed female mage in armor, the aura around her reminding others just how terrifying this person could be. This was Erza Scarlet, the Titania, and it seemed she needed to remind a few people of why she was so feared in this guild.

Walking through the guild doors without a word, the brawling had been renewed to a new level with the sudden entrance of a large muscular figure shouting about men and fighting. A terribly sweet smile formed on her face as no one had taken notice of her yet, a fact that would change very shortly in the coming seconds. Dropping the massive object that she was carrying on her shoulder, it caused the entire guild to shake as people thought an earthquake was occurring, close but not quite.

"What do we have here?" The almost silent question could easily be heard by everyone in the guild, even the Barmaid who was in the back room getting more alcohol for the resident drunk, Cana. Everyone slowly turned to look to the entrance of the guild, horrified expressions on all of their faces as they looked at the one person who wasn't suppose to be back for another two days. The first to recover was a black haired man, who wore close to no clothing besides his boxers. He gave a nervous smile as he raised his hands in surrender.

"H-hey E-e-erza! You're b-back ear-early!" He started laughing softly, trying to diffuse the situation that had begun when an argument between Macao and Warren of all people turned a little too violent for anyone else not to get involved in with high spirits. "I would smash all of you into the floor for this disturbance, but I came here because I need to speak to the Master." She looked around, the red-headed mage raising a brow when the small man was nowhere to be found. "He's at the annual Guild Master meeting." This was the response given by the white-haired Barmaid, a mocking smile on her face as she looked at Erza. This woman was Marijane Strauss, the only one in the guild who would openly challenge the 'Re-quip' mage. "I see….Gray, meet me at the train station in three hours, at noon. I heard some rather disturbing news recently and I need your help with it." Everyone in the guild looked on in shock. THE Titania was asking for help? The world was ending!

"O-okay!" Was the only response from Gray, not wishing to suffer at the hands of the scary woman in front of him. A blonde haired mage sitting at the bar looked confused at the interaction, turning to face Mira with a questioning gaze. Catching the look, Mira smiled warmly to the new addition. "Ah…Lucy, you are wondering about them, huh?" Lucy nodded. Mira then went on to explain how Erza kept the guild in line when Master was away, she found it as her duty to keep the peace. "Oh! I know!" Mira suddenly spoke up, excitement clear on her face where not minutes before it held a mocking smirk. "Go with them and help! It'll be great!" Lucy gulped a bit at the offer.

At the train station three hours later, Gray was looking at Lucy for a few moments in silence. "Why are you here again?" The blonde sighed a bit, "Mirajane said it'd be good if I came along….to help to know you guys better and to get some experience with a mission." Gray nodded a bit, knowing just how much Mira liked to mess with people by sending additions. A large shadow towered over them from behind, making both jump in shock at the scene of dozens of suitcases being placed onto a single cart, stacked high into the sky. "Good, you're here. Hmm?" Erza looked to Lucy. "Ah….a new face. Welcome to Fairy Tail, I am Erza Scarlet." The red-haired woman bowed a bit in greeting before continuing to the train. "Come, we must get going. The train leaves in a few minutes." Both of them were still staring in shock at the luggage before a yell promising pain snapped them out of their stupor, making both of them instantly follow the woman.

Now on the train, the three were currently searching for an empty cabin, to no avail. This was a very crowded train, all the cabins were full. The only one they hadn't checked yet was the one at the end. As Lucy opened the door, she grinned when she found three spare seats. "Guys! I found some!" Footsteps followed moments later as the other two of the group looked into the cabin. However as soon as they did, their gaze fell on the pink-haired man currently staring at them with a bored expression.

**_Natsu P.O.V_**

Once the door opened I looked at who came in, perking a brow at the three who seemed to be eyeing the seats in my cabin like they were made of gold. "Can I help you three?"

The one with red-hair looked at me and as our eyes connected I felt a tingle down the back of my spine. Bowing her head, I raised a brow as she started to speak. "Yes, we were wondering if we could trouble you by sitting here with you." He waved them in as he suddenly felt the train start to move, his face turning green as he groaned, leaning back against the window. The red-haired woman looked on in concern, sitting next to him as the other two took the seats across from them. "Um….are you okay?" Turning my head I looked at the black-haired man currently taking off his pants. "B-been better….s-stripper."

They all seemed confused at what he said until they all looked at the weird man, the blonde instantly yelping and hitting the man who tried desperately to put his pants back on. Shaking his head as he tried to avoid throwing up all over the cabin, Natsu closed his eyes and groaned. "Motion s-sickness…." Natsu said simply. The red-haired woman frowned a bit. "I'm sorry to hear that Mr…..?".

"Natsu." She nodded at his name. "I am Erza Scarlet. The blonde hitting the man across from us is Lucy and the man with the stripping habit is Gray. What brings you to suffer on this train?" Biting his lip, Natsu resisted the urge to speak like a loudmouth, something he was known for in his guild at times and spoke in a rather plain tone, well as plain as you can get when you are currently seeing four of each person dancing in the room. "A-a j-jo-job. Gotta get to…..next town." She nodded at him. "I wish you luck with your job, Mr. Natsu."

The conversation ended rather awkwardly like that until the next stop where the three stood, the red-head bowing her head at him. "This is our stop, have a good day." He nodded a bit as he caught a glance at the Emblem on her arm. His eyes widened slightly as he felt a cold drop of sweat roll down his neck as she left. That was the Titania. Grinning through his green face, he remembered he was to meet her on this task, she looked strong when they were speaking earlier. He was going to enjoy this if they came in contact.

The train started moving again as Natsu groaned, the door opening once more to reveal a black-haired man carrying a small, yet long box in his hands. Sniffing the air, the fire mage growled as he smelled demonic magic. "E-eisenwald mage."


	2. Introductions

**_Last Time_**

_The train started moving again as Natsu groaned, the door opening once more to reveal a black-haired man carrying a small, yet long box in his hands. Sniffing the air, the fire mage growled as he smelled demonic magic. "E-eisenwald mage."_

**_Present, General P.O.V._**

The man froze almost instantly as he heard the pink-haired brat speak, eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the door, already planning to his escape. How did this brat know who he was?! No one outside of Eisenwald should know what he looks like, much less that he was a member to the guild. Looking to the pink-haired kid, Kageyama clenched a fist in his pocket, preparing to beat his unfortunate soul down if need be. Kageyama was currently wondering where their back-up was that they requested from 'Reaper's Scythe' a few days ago, a move a good majority of the guild was against when Erigor suggested it. "Who are you brat?" well that could have been said a bit nicer as the 'brat' in question no longer seemed sick and instead narrowed blazing red eyes at Kageyama. "Is that any way for you to speak to the man guarding your guild's pathetic ass? I should set you on fire for that question." Kageyama shivered as he unknowingly took a step back, the glare and tone used in that response would be enough to scare anyone into fearing for their lives.

It took a second to click in his mind before Kageyama realized exactly what this kid had said. 'Backup? We were supposed to get at least ten mages….they only sent one. He must be strong' were the thoughts currently going on in his head as he asked his next question, "S-sorry, can you tell me who you are and show me your mark?" This got a surprisingly cheery reply from the man who looked like he was about to commit murder on a train. "I'm 'Salamander'" was his reply, rolling up his right sleeve to his shoulder to expose his guild mark. Kageyama bit back a curse as his eyes widened in shock. 'Salamander?! They sent HIM here!? Oh shit….I didn't think they'd take our request seriously enough to send one of their 'Elemental Dragons'.' He shivered at the thought as he nodded a little bit, his tone much more respectful now. "I-I see, Salamander-sama, I am honored to have you with-". A fist connected into the wall next to his head, an insane grin on the pink-haired man's face as he spoke in a quiet whisper, "I'm here because it is a job and I feel like it…one thing goes wrong and you and the rest can consider yourselves burned." Kageyama nodded his head rapidly in response as the fist was withdrawn from the wall.

Glancing past Salamander, Kageyama's eyes widened as he saw a vehicle rapidly approaching the side of the train, "Salamander-sama!" The man in questioned turned to look out the window, perking a brow as he saw the magic-powered vehicle catching up with a furious red-headed Titania currently charging at the train. "Sit down and shut up." Kageyama nodded as he did what he was told, sitting as far away as possible from the man, clutching the box in his hands tightly like his life depended on it, and it honestly did.

Natsu placed his hand on the window, melting the glass just enough to fit a hand through as he made a gun with his hand, the tip of his index finger lighting on fire as he took aim. "Boom." He grinned as he saw instead of the expected bullet of fire, a spell circle appeared around the fire, a gushing torrent of flame shooting towards the vehicle. This was his test to the infamous Titania, 'Let's see if she burns or not and that she is actually worthy of that name' he thought with a look of glee and interest.

**_Several minutes prior, Erza's P.O.V._**

They had just gotten off the train and were heading to look in town for information of Eisenwald, Erza having already informed them of what she heard in a bar on her way back to the guild. Sighing she glanced back as a man bumped into Gray and apologized, his hand tightly wrapped around some small box as he walked onto the train. Sighing again, she decided their first course of action would be to ask the local Rune Knights if any news regarding the dark guild had popped up here and go from there. Turning to the two she found Gray already have naked, his shirt thrown over a lamp post a dozen feet in the air above him. Resisting the urge to hit him for the moment, she remained serious as she began her explanation. "We're going to be asking the Rune Knights here if they heard anything about Erigor and the rest of Eisenwald." It was simple, yet the simple ideas often got the best results as she had found it through numerous experiences. Gray had a confused glance on his face a bit as he started to speak to Erza. "Erigor right?" She nodded. "That dude who bumped into me was muttering that name while he held onto that box like a possessed idiot."

It took a moment for it to click before Erza gained a tick mark on her forehead, clenching her fist and slamming Gray into a miniature crater. "WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I EXPLAINED THIS AT THE STATION?!" The man couldn't properly answer with his face buried into the stone so Lucy was slowly dragging him out as Erza watched in annoyance. When he was finally freed he apologized for a minute straight before she had enough. "Enough! We need to go after him now, the train left a few minutes ago!" She barked the orders, the scarlet hair on her head raising in the air like a demon's the longer she spoke, terrifying the Ice-make Mage and the Celestial Spirit Mage. "H-hai!" they shouted in unison as they followed her back to the edge of the station. Erza didn't appreciate the man's constant refusal to stop the train, something that irked the 'Requip' mage quite a bit. Fuming, she turned to a MFJ (Magically Fed Jeep) sitting at the end of the station. A few knocked out workers later and they were on their way to catch up to the train.

The tube attached to Erza's wrist flowed with the magic is sucked from her body to feed the vehicle so it could run, her pumping in much more magic than was recommended in an attempt to catch the train before it got to the main train depot down the tracks. No one dared speak in fear that they would anger the scarlet-haired woman currently driving them, so they were content in waiting as the minutes ticked by to catch the train. After a while their goal was in sight and Erza started pumping more magic than before into the vehicle as Gray shouted, "Erza, stop! You won't have any magic left at this rate! We still need you to help us fight!" She shrugged off his concerns as she got closer, yet something caught her eye towards the middle portion of the train. Was that smoke coming from a cabin? She didn't have long to think about it as a torrent of flames suddenly came rushing at them from the window, a shadowed figure behind the glass having cast the spell. Swerving the vehicle just enough to avoid the fire, the ground exploded as everything around them shook. 'That was a strong fire spell, S-class at least. No one in Eisenwald should have that kind of strength, who is that?'.

"Salamander-sama! You are going to blow up the train if you do that again!" She sweat-dropped as she heard a voice call out from the train. That was one way to get an answer. However that didn't last long as her face suddenly became serious as she recalled the name who was responsible for decimating several dark guilds and even some light guilds. That name caused fear in the world of Magic, even drawing the attention of the Council who had sent a Wizard Saint after the man, only to be returned a burnt corpse with a note, 'Next'. Tightening her grip on the handle she saw the town in the distance, yet she couldn't go after them because of the fire currently surrounding the vehicle. She would have flown after them in her** Black-Wing Armor** if it wasn't for the fact she was already hurting on magic at the moment and she would have had to leave the other two behind while she faced an entire Dark Guild.

She could only grit her teeth as the train disappeared down the tracks towards the town, "Damnit!" She cursed out loud, scaring the other two more with that one word than what the fire did just moments before. "We were so close….Gray, freeze the ice then melt it!" she barked at the nearly naked figure in the vehicle. He closed his hands and eyes as he concentrated but shook his head, "The fire is too hot to freeze….what the hell kind of flames are these?" He looked confused at the fire burning around them. Yelling again she slammed her hands onto the side of the vehicle, a giant crack appearing on the steel frame. "Salamander!"

**_Natsu's P.O.V_**

"Well at least she can dodge that. Maybe this won't be so boring after all." He watched as they sped away from the group currently surrounded by the fire. "It'll take them fifteen or so minutes to get out of that. Oy, you." He looked to Kageyama as the man looked up in alarm before suddenly shouting. "Salamander-sama! You are going to blow up the train if you do that again!" as he saw the magic circle appear around my finger. I sighed a little bit and grunted, waving my hand to make the fire die out. "Fine fine…where are we meeting your little guild and Erigor?" Kageyama slowly calmed down as he decided to speak, "T-the next town has a major train depot, we're taking it over to distract them from out real purpose of taking out the Guild Masters in Clovertown." I looked at the man and resisted the urge to face-palm in his presence as I just nodded and watch us arrive at the town. All of this gave me something to focus on besides my motion-sickness, something I was extremely happy about to no small end. Being on the edge of barfing sucks so don't say anything about it.

Arriving at the station a swarm of people in dark clothing with wicked grins on their faces immediately started kicking people out into the town. I watched lazily as one of them went to grab me before I coated my fist in flame and buried him into the ground. They all tensed and prepared to attack me as I was about to beat them into the dirt until Kageyama came up. "W-wait! This is Salamander from 'Reaper's Scythe'! He's here to assist us!" Grinned cruelly, they all backed up at the expression on my face before a man floating above the rest spoke in a rather calm tone, yet one could still feel the fear behind it. "Salamander-san, it has been a while. When I asked for help I didn't think they'd send you."

Looking up at the man above everyone else I just shrugged a bit, my face becoming rather blank as I glanced around. "Right….you mean the last time I beat you within an inch of your life." I chuckled a bit as Erigor shivered at the memory before we turned to a more business like manner, well as business-like as I could get when I was currently starving and bored. The combination of the two is deadly, let me tell you. Walking towards the group I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when they all looked away in fear. Okay, I understand I'm a bit violent at times but I only beat one of them down, come on! "I'm here simply because of the amount of money you put up front was enough to catch our attention. If the ones asking for help was Fairy Tail for example, you wouldn't be here roaming freely. Ah…speaking of them." I slapped a close fist into my palm as I remembered. "Titania and two others are coming here." I grinned childishly as everyone besides Erigor started shouting in panic, oh this was going to be fun.

**_Erza's P.O.V._**

I resisted the urge to yell at Gray for his lack of ability of freezing fire, something he often gloated about when he was around a fire mage, and rather decided on how to deal with Salamander. This was a name that many feared, and for good reason. Groaning a bit the only real way I could fight a fire mage of this caliber was with my **Flame-Empress Armor**. That being the best course of action, rather the only one really if I was caught in his flames, was settled. I noticed the flames going down slightly as the minutes ticked by until they were low enough I felt safe that we could cross. Without warning I stepped on the pedal forward and fed magic into the vehicle, knocking Gray onto Lucy who screamed and slapped Gray into the back seats. "Pervert!" was the only thing I heard as I barreled to the city.

It took an agonizingly long time, too long, to enter the city and go to the front of the station. When we arrived there we found an entire squadron of Rune Knights covering the front entrance, none of them dead thankfully, but still rather beat up and humiliated if the man strung up by his underwear was any indication. Summoning a sword I slashed the door down as we entered into the station finding a scene we had expected. Each member of Eisenwald was waiting for us, Erigor currently standing at the front of the group of dark mages. The man constantly glanced off to the right in a nervous fashion. Gray smirked as he thought the man was afraid of me as I said nothing and followed his gaze. "Heh! What's the matter, scared of only three of us?" The stripping mage shouted. Getting no answer he was annoyed and about to yell until I grabbed his head and faced the same direction as Erigor was looking.

There sitting at a makeshift table, stuffing himself with food, food that was on FIRE, was the pink-haired man who looked like he was going to throw up at any minute just half an hour ago on the train. "Natsu?" I asked as I looked to the man, stunned about what seemed to be a rather nice person would be around this Dark Guild. He grinned at me in a child-like manner, waving a hand over. "Yo, Titania!" I raised my guard, the only ones who called me that were enemies, yet I couldn't help the small blush that lit across my cheeks. The now apparent enemy seemed too innocent in the way he acted and sounded, it seemed like he was honestly glad and happy about seeing her much to her confusion. No one moved for several moments as the man finished his meal. "Ah, I'm stuffed!" came the reply from the man as he stood and scratched his stomach, making his way over to everyone else.

**_General P.O.V._**

As Natsu made his way over to the others he stood between everyone, stretching a little as he glanced to either side of him. On his right was Titania, the main reason he was here, and on his left was the guild he was assigned to protect and help. "So, what we doin?" Everyone sweat-dropped a little at his careless way of speaking. "Salamander-san." Natsu glanced at Erigor who was speaking. "We'll handle them, can you come with me so we could broadcast the Lullaby?" Lucy looked to be in thought before she gasped, "Mass-death magic, Lullaby the flute!" The object in question was held up in Erigor's hand, a grin plastered on his tattooed face. "Smart girl….but a slow one at the same time. Get them!" He yelled as the Eisenwald mages charged the Fairies, Natsu lazily walking next to Erigor, flames appearing on his feet as Erigor used his wind magic to float, both disappearing further into the building. The sounds and screams of pain behind them made Natsu chuckle, he was sure Titania could handle those grunts, and if she couldn't, well….she wasn't worth his time.

Sniffing the air, he found that the blonde-haired girl and the stripper had left, likely to try and find Erigor with the flute before he could use it. Shaking his head at how easily they fell for the trick, the Shinigami and Salamander appeared outside of the station. Natsu watched, slightly impressed, as Erigor cast a rather large spell, **Wind Wall,** trapped the fairies inside. Shrugging a bit, he felt something vibrate in his pocket as he pulled out a small orb. "Erigor, get going I'll catch up. Old man Lycas wants something." Erigor nodded as he started flying off. Flicking a switch on the side of the orb the image of the Master appeared. "Natsu, how goes the mission?" He shrugged in response as Lycas nodded. "Well, I hate to spoil your fun, but things have just changed." Perking a brow, Natsu waited. "It seems that the money Eisenwald send over was fake, they attempted to trick us. You know what to do." Natsu scowled as he nodded, his gaze turning to the figure in the distance currently flying at a higher speed, almost as if he knew what the conversation was about. "I think Erigor figured out what you wanted to say old man. What about the flute?" Lycas stroked his chin a bit as he seemed in thought, "Capture it if possible, it would get a fine price from the Council once they want it back. Otherwise destroy it if that isn't possible." The fire-mage nodded, a childlike face appearing, "So I can fight it if it appears, right?" The old man sighed and nodded. Flicking the orb off, Natsu turned to the direction Erigor disappeared. "Now then, it seems I can finally play."


	3. I'm all Fired Up!

**_Last Time_**

_Sniffing the air, he found that the blonde-haired girl and the stripper had left, likely to try and find Erigor with the flute before he could use it. Shaking his head at how easily they fell for the trick, the Shinigami and Salamander appeared outside of the station. Natsu watched, slightly impressed, as Erigor cast a rather large spell, __**Wind Wall,**__ trapped the fairies inside. Shrugging a bit, he felt something vibrate in his pocket as he pulled out a small orb. "Erigor, get going I'll catch up. Old man Lycas wants something." Erigor nodded as he started flying off. Flicking a switch on the side of the orb the image of the Master appeared. "Natsu, how goes the mission?" He shrugged in response as Lycas nodded. "Well, I hate to spoil your fun, but things have just changed." Perking a brow, Natsu waited. "It seems that the money Eisenwald send over was fake, they attempted to trick us. You know what to do." Natsu scowled as he nodded, his gaze turning to the figure in the distance currently flying at a higher speed, almost as if he knew what the conversation was about. "I think Erigor figured out what you wanted to say old man. What about the flute?" Lycas stroked his chin a bit as he seemed in thought, "Capture it if possible, it would get a fine price from the Council once they want it back. Otherwise destroy it if that isn't possible." The fire-mage nodded, a childlike face appearing, "So I can fight it if it appears, right?" The old man sighed and nodded. Flicking the orb off, Natsu turned to the direction Erigor disappeared. "Now then, it seems I can finally play."_

**_Rail tracks leading to Clovertown, General P.O.V._**

Erigor was sweating, his mind already racing with how this entire incident could end. He was a fool to think that he wouldn't be found out, it was only a matter of time until they checked the account with the 'money' he had set up, only for it to be empty. This worry soon vanished as he saw the other edge of the canyon several hundred yards in front of him, he was so close now he could almost hear the song already! Gripping Lullaby tighter he increased his speed only to hear wind whipping above him, flying right over him without him even noticing it until now. Stopping, he closed his eyes and prayed that it wasn't HIM, he wished it would be Titania, no, a random curious bird. Gulping, he looked over his shoulder to find a grinning Salamander, flames lighting across his feet not six inches from his face. "Boo" that alone caused Erigor, the Ace of Eisenwald and the Shinigami to let out a startled yell as he tried to flee. He never had the chance to escape, a fire-enhanced fist smashing into his back and forcing him to crash into the railway below him. Coughing as he felt parts of the metal from the track indent into his body he gasped for air as he looked back to the slowly descending man.

"D-damnit…I was so close. This…this would be different if you didn't know that magic!" Erigor shouted at Natsu who merely had a childish grin on his face in response. Finally catching his breath because the man before him made no move to attack he already knew he had to make this into a very fast fight or else he would be turned to ash. "**Storm mail" **came the shout as he drew the wind to act as armor around him, shooting forward with his wind covered scythe, slashing an arc down at Natsu, aiming to split him in two. Natsu jumped to the side, clinging to the thin connection of land between the two sides of the ravine. Flipping over Erigor, he reached his hand out to the side. "Ah….Erigor. I have to ask a favor." The Shinigami narrowed his eyes, preparing his scythe for another strike as he responded calmly, "What would that be, Salamander?"

"Don't die with this one slash." Erigor was about to ask what he meant by 'slash', but he never had to as fire exploded into the form of a blade in Natsu's grip. The fire slowly disappeared, leaving behind a sword that would be rather fitting on a Samurai if it weren't for the deep blood red blade with a yellow dragon running along the length of the metal. Erigor never felt so slow in his entire life, he never saw anything until he was already face first into the tracks. Blood pooled under his body as the Shinigami felt like he was shaking hands with his namesake. "Good good, you're still alive. The old man will be happy I can use this thing without killing everyone in one stroke now." Walking over to the barely breathing form of Erigor, Natsu leaned down as he rummaged through the man's clothing for several moments until his hands found what he was looking for. Lullaby, something so simple looking was actually such a deadly magic and unknown to many, demon.

Whistling to himself, Natsu flipped the small lacryma out of his pocket and hit the switch, almost instantly a response came in the picture of Master Lycas. "Yo, master! I got it! See?" Natsu spoke like a little kid with joy evident in his voice, holding up the flute for the man to see. "Good job Natsu. I trust everything went well?" Lycas grinned a bit as he waited for a response, "Yep! I managed to slash someone without killing them! Though….i'm kinda disappointed." This got him a perked eyebrow. "Oh….what makes you say that?" Natsu sighed a little bit, sitting down on the groaning figure of Erigor who was using his clothing to stop the bleeding. "Titania and me haven't fought yet….I guess she had trouble dealing with the grunts. Oh well….another time the-" The roaring of an engine down the tracks caught the attention of the Salamander, a familiar smell in the air as he grinned. "I'll get back to you old man….my day just got much better." Without waiting for a response he flicked the orb off and turned to look down the tracks.

After a minute a vehicle could be seen flying down the rails towards the standing figure of Natsu and the barely conscious figure of Erigor. "TITANIA!" he roared down the tracks, raising his blade as he gave one quick stroke, vertically slashing as a wave of fire shot forth. It was met by a slash of water in return, cancelling out the attacks. "Yo….'bout time you arrived." He grinned at the scowling woman.

**_The Train Station as Natsu disappeared with Erigor_**

"Lucy, Gray, go stop them from playing Lullaby over the speakers and hurry! I'll deal with these fools and be with you to handle Salamander!" She frowned as she thought that, but why? He was an enemy, yet when she looked at him she felt no malice or ill intent towards her or the other two, it was like he was just out for a friendly stroll. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts she watched the other two take off as two members of Eisenwald followed after them in pursuit. 'I'll trust those two to deal with the ones following them….I need to finish this fast.' She growled as the entire guild charged her, this just made it all the easier. "**Heaven's Wheel!" **Erza shouted as swords appeared in the air around her, she charged to meet the stunned dark mages, each stroke of her swords knocking out five or more of their members. Her hair flowed with each movement like splattered blood, eyes transfixed on her next opponent. The defeated mages would later say they saw a fairy dancing across the room like a demon before knocking them out.

It didn't take but minutes to deal with all of the mages as Lucy and Gray, both sporting rather nasty bruises on their bodies arrived back, Lucy with panic strewn across her face, Gray carrying the man who followed him. "It's a trap, we need to get outside!" Lucy shouted, running past Erza with Gray following her. Frowning, Erza followed the two of them and stepped outside of the building, only to be greeted by winds that could knock down an entire town, a wall of wind like a tornado circling the building. "Oh no….we're too late." The blonde mage whispered as Gray scoffed, setting the man down. "This is nothing, watch." He clapped his hands together and formed a massive ball of ice above him as he hollowed out the middle and set himself inside. Walking to the wall he grinned as he was about to pass through, only for Erza to shoot her hand forward and grab him, yanking him back.

"What was that for?! We don't have time-" He was shouting as he noticed the wall of ice he had formed was shredded like paper. Gulping, he finished his sentence, "Oh….thanks." Erza shook her head as she examined the wall. 'It absorbs and tears apart attacks that are physical….a regular magical attack wouldn't work. The wind would knock it aside like a fly….the wall is too high to fly out of the top and I can't carry them…damn, think, think!'. She growled as she couldn't think of an answer, but she didn't need to as Lucy shouted as she remembered something. "Ah, wait! I have a spirit that can handle this! Come out, **Virgo!"** An instant later a pink haired spirit wearing a maid outfit appeared, bowing to them. "How may I be of assistance to my lady?" Lucy grinned as she explained, "We need you to dig a tunnel under the wind wall and let us out, please help!" Virgo simply nodded as she jumped into the air, a hole appearing almost instantly as everyone jumped in and followed. Not seconds later they appeared on the other side of the wall.

"Good, we need to catch them before they get to town!" Erza yelled as she jumped to the jeep, only for Gray to grab the magical feeding plug and attach it to his arm. "Erza, you're our strongest mage, we need you in top condition. Rest up and I'll get us there in no time." Gray explained with logic of all things as he stripped his pants off, again. Erza grumbled but nodded as they all loaded up, taking off as citizens of the town jumped out of the way.

It felt like forever, too long, too much wasted time. Unless a miracle appeared they wouldn't reach Erigor and Salamander in time, a thought that made all of them shudder. However, as fate would have it a miracle did appear, even if it was one of Salamander standing over what looked like a dead Erigor. Hey, he was bleeding and she couldn't exactly look closely because of the wave of fire coming at her. "**Water Slash", **an attack made possible by her Sea Empress armor and weapon, a torrent of water cancelling out the flames as they skid to a halt not a dozen yards from the grinning man. Erza felt a tick mark appear on her head as she heard him speak, "Yo….'bout time you arrived."

**_Natsu P.O.V._**

Oh boy, she looked beyond pissed at the moment. I watched all of them, besides the dude who I met on the train earlier and seemed to be passed out, sucker, get off the vehicle and stand in front of me. "Alright, to make this perfectly clear, I only want Titania. The rest of you….go watch a movie or something, I don't care." He waved them off, tick marks appearing on the three individual's heads. "Shut it Salamander, give us Lullaby!" The dark haired man, Gray I think, yelled at me. I held up the flute, twirling it in my fingers, the skull on the end was rather creepy I thought. "Sorry, my Master wants this, it'll fetch a nice price from the Council."

"Lies!" I perked a brow at the red-head. "You teamed up with Erigor and are planning to kill the Masters, don't try and fool us!" Shaking my head I started to talk only to look up and find a blade about to chop a good part of my head off. Raising my blade we connected in offense and defense, both of us dead even for the moment. I grinned as I felt the raw power behind the strike, she was good, really good. Flames began to wrap around my body before I stopped and pushed her away, sighing. "I can't fight you." She growled, "Why, afraid you'll lose?" I groaned a bit as I pointed at the others. "If we fight, you know that our little scuffle would throw everyone off the bridge, right?" She frowned as she looked to either side at the near bottomless ravine. "So, let's find at the end." I grinned and pointed over my shoulder. "Meet you there!" I grabbed Erigor by his neck, earning a shout of surprise from the still awake man.

**_General P.O.V._**

Erza jumped into the vehicle after the man lit his feet on fire and shot to the other end, her entire thought process of him trying to buy time to reach her master. All of them shot after the Shinigami and Salamander, but surprisingly just as the man said, he stopped at the other end, dropping Erigor. "Stripper, blonde, move. This is a fight between me and Titania." They frowned before moving away, knowing this fight was out of their league, and they already used their strength to fight earlier. Erza immediately went into her **"Flame Empress" **armor as she called it when she summoned it. Natsu simply grinned, his hand tightening on his sword. Something about the blade made everyone besides him feel uneasy, mainly because of the power locked inside the thin strip of hardened steel.

No words were needed as they immediately flew after one another, sword on sword. The first part of this battle held no magical attacks or fancy tricks, it was purely a test of sword skill, something Erza slowly made obvious she had more of. Natsu found himself defending more than attacking, something he smiled at, 'Good good! This is the best, the best! She'll be fun…maybe she can do it, maybe.' The smile unsettled the scarlet haired mage as she continued to attack, pressing her advantage in skill further.

If she weren't wearing her armor, the next attack would have ended the fight. "**Fire Dragon's Claw!" **The attack was so fast that she didn't even think of defending yet, it hit her right in her stomach, bending the metal slightly as she was sent hurtling back, but not before her sword swung in return. It knocked Lullaby from the pocket of Natsu where he had it and it went somewhere out of his line of sight. He could care less about the flute, this is what got his attention. His entire body erupted in flames as Erza got back to her feet, eyes narrowed at the magic. 'What the hell….that amount of magic….it's at the point of a wizard saint's.' Her eyes widened as she remember. This man **killed** a wizard saint not a year ago. Salamander had burned him with fire, and the attack he used, this man used lost Dragon-Slaying Magic!

The two of them went after each other again, this time however was different. "**Fire Dragon's Roar!" **point blank range, the only way to say it. Natsu wasn't two feet from Erza after he unleashed the attack which was barely avoided by the woman. She twisted her body and blade, slicing Natsu across the chest as he attacked again, ignoring the wound, delivering a crushing strike to her. **"Fire Dragon's Flaming Elbow!" **It struck her in the side as both of them fell back from the attack, even in the damage that was dealt, yet Natsu had the advantage for the moment from the blow he delivered earlier. They stood again, but instead of attacking, Natsu bowed to his opponent, a person with skill to take advantage of the opening. "My name is Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon-slayer of 'Reaper's Scythe'. I am also known as Salamander." He spoke respectfully, this caused Erza to perk a brow, returning the courtesy. "I am Erza Scarlet, S-class mage of 'Fairy Tail'. Some call me Fairy Queen Titania." He nodded, but before they could resume both of them were blown back by wind.

Erigor stood there, panting, one hand holding Lullaby and the other having his palm extended. "K-kageyama….do it." He held his hand up as he passed out, Lullaby disappearing in a shadow as the vehicle sped by them, Kageyama on top as everyone looked startled at the sudden interruption. The vehicle disappeared, Kageyama and Lullaby gone. "Well….this sucks." Natsu sweat-dropped at the random scene, was anything going to go right today? Glancing at Titania, he noticed how her attention was now split between him and the vehicle's trail. Sighing, he knew the fun was over as he de-summoned the blade, raising questioning looks from the three Fairy Tail members. "This fight isn't fun anymore. For now, I'll assist you in stopping him, but then we finish out fight, got it?"

Erza looked torn between believing this man would offer such a good deal and slight hope that he was. Glancing back at the other two she noticed similar looks on their faces as she hardened a glare at Salamander. "Agreed, but no tricks." This only got a hurt and poutful look that made her almost sweat-drop. "Fine fine….let's get moving." He groaned out as he reached a hand out to the Stripper as he called him who took it after some hesitation. Not a second later Natsu was flying in the air, carrying a man who was now missing a shirt, as Erza in her '**Black-wing Armor'** carried the blonde. They immediately took off after the vehicle after the random, awkward, and short truce. Hey, not everything is perfect.

"Why?" Natsu looked to the scarlet-haired mage who asked the question. "I ain't got no favored side. I go where the money and the fight does….or until the old man tells me to go somewhere. If ya'll paid me, I would be fightin for you." He shrugged, the conversation dying right there as they stopped half a mile from the meeting hall. They had found the vehicle, but no Kageyama. Sprinting to the hall they all stopped as they heard to voices talking. Creeping around a bush, they all looked forward as a short man talked to Kageyama. When Natsu meant short, he meant SHORT. He was so small that Natsu thought it was a joke, yet he had seen stranger things, like a man stripping his pants off in a bush not a foot from him.

He was about to go out until he noticed Kageyama drop the flute, causing confusion to the four mages. If that was confusing, a sudden talking flute made all of them sweat-drop at the turn of events. "**Fufufu, humans are so weak and easily fooled. It seems I have to do this myself, NOW DIE!" **Seconds later, a towering giant of a talking tree made out of dry wood and leaves stood in front of them, dwarfing the guild master's hall.

"**Prepare to suffer as I devour all of your- huh?" **He stopped as he heard laughing coming from a certain pink-haired human below him. "**Why do you laugh, Human?! You're about to die!"** This caused even more laughter as Natsu lit his hand on fire, an insane grin on his face as the entire area suddenly combusted in flames. Natsu pointed one hand up at the giant demonic figure and spoke some rather famous and memorable words.

"I'm all fired up!"


	4. Assignment

**_Last time_**

_"__**Prepare to suffer as I devour all of your- huh?" **__He stopped as he heard laughing coming from a certain pink-haired human below him. "__**Why do you laugh, Human?! You're about to die!"**__ This caused even more laughter as Natsu lit his hand on fire, an insane grin on his face as the entire area suddenly combusted in flames. Natsu pointed one hand up at the giant demonic figure and spoke some rather famous and memorable words._

_"I'm all fired up!"_

**_Now, General P.O.V._**

Everyone including Master Makarov brought their arms up to stop the heat as well as they could from getting to their faces. Lullaby looked down at the torrent of flames surrounding him, amused at the thought that a mere 'human' could hope to defeat him. He was a creation of the mighty Zeref himself! There was no way that he could be defeated by low tier mages, well, so he thought as he saw the fire mage jump up into the air.

Lullaby swung a hand out to knock the pest out of the sky as Natsu boosted higher into the air, thanks to the flames surrounding his legs. Growling, the demon started rapidly swinging and slashing at the dodging fire mage, its annoyance growing by the minute because he could not hit this fool who didn't even have time to attack him. Suddenly throwing his head back, Lullaby concentrated a beam of magic in his mouth, shooting it point blank at Natsu who simply stood there, raising a hand as if he thought he could catch it!

An explosion lit the sky as Lullaby grinned, "Foolish human, you think you could defeat me? It's a shame I could not eat your soul now that you are-". He never finished, a flaming fist slamming into the side of his face, sending him crashing to the ground away from the group. Natsu floated in the air, a very pissed off expression on his face. His vest was missing along with his sandals, not to mention his favorite pair of shorts were torn. Yet the odd thing about the scene was, not a single scratch was on his body besides that of the wound the Titania had given him earlier.

"You…." His eyes were shadowed by his pink hair, though his voice was more demonic than that of Lullaby. Red glowing eyes lit up from his shadowed face, an insane grin taking residence on his formerly pissed face. "You will burn…..that was my favorite vest and pair of shorts! You asshole!" He charged down at the still stunned demon, hands lit up in flames as he shouted, "**With a blazing fire in the left hand of the Dragon and a torrent of flame in the right hand of the Dragon….." **Raising both hands above his head and clasping them together he slammed them down. "**BLAZING FLAME IGNITION, STAGE THREE!" **

Roars of pain could be heard from the explosion that occurred next, the entire area besides the ones around the Mages turning to ash as they watched in awe at the sight before them. A voice suddenly broke them out of their trance, coming from right above them. "That won't be enough….it mainly pissed him off. Stripper, freeze his feet. Titania, we're going right for his head." Master Makarov perked a brow as he heard the unknown fire mage give orders to two of his children, but what truly surprised him was when they both nodded to Natsu. A roar made them all glance to the flames, Lullaby standing once again, a good portion of his body still on fire, charred, his left hand turned to ash. Erza frowned, switching into her "**Black-wing Armor"**. "Let's go Salamander, we'll finish our battle after." With that, the ice mage, Titania, and Salamander leaped forward to finish the fight.

**_Fairy Tail P.O.V._**

Lucy nervously looked to Erza and Gray, standing between the two of them as she watched Natsu fly into the air to start the fight. "Shouldn't we….help? It's kind of our fault that we let Kageyama get the flute…." Lucy quietly asked, but loud enough for everyone to hear, including Makarov. Erza glared at Lucy in return, "He's an enemy, don't forget. Even if we won't fight for now, as soon as this is done we will. However….you're right on that part that it was our fault." Suddenly the entire area turned into a scorching land as Natsu increased his flames. Makarov raised a hand to block the light as the others the heat.

Makarov watched in mild awe at the skill his man displayed in his agility and magical prowess. He was sure he would have heard of a fire mage of this talent before now, someone like this had to have a nickname somewhere. Glancing to the three children of his he started to speak, "Who is this man, Erza?" This got him a frown as she sighed. "That is Natsu Dragneel of 'Reaper's Scythe'. But he's known as Salamander." Makarov widened his eyes in surprise. 'The man who defeated the 10th ranked Wizard Saint? Albeit not the strongest….nor the most pure, the man was still a Saint…so for this kid to beat him, what kind of monster will he be when he's older?'. This drew a frown from the aging Master of Fairy Tail. Just what he needed, more paperwork, though thankfully this won't be directed at his guild.

He was about to go tell his children to aid the man if this truly was partly their fault, but he was cut short by the massive magical pressure he felt emit from Lullaby. Narrowed his eyes he watched as a beam came out of his mouth, presumably blasting the 'Salamander' to bits. Frowning a bit further, he sighed. It seems he would have to get involved if this got any worse. "You three, go deal with Lullaby please….I must remain here and prepare a barrier if he is to cast his song of death." They all nodded but couldn't get three steps without seeing Lullaby be leveled by a flaming fist. Standing there, obviously in a not so good mood, was the fire mage who was renowned for his strength and ability, Salamander, or Natsu as Makarov learned.

They covered their ears and all sweat-dropped at the sudden yelling from the man, mainly complaints about his clothes. 'Is he more worried about his clothes then his life?' All of them thought this as they watched the massive attack from Natsu build up and suddenly explode, Makarov casting a barrier in front of them as Gray raised an ice barrier as well, stopping a good bit of the heat and explosion. Makarov felt Natsu floating above them but did not say anything, even if this man was thought to be an enemy by Erza, he felt no ill intent towards him or his children so he had no reason to worry for the moment.

Upon quietly watching the interaction between his children and the fire mage, Makarov watched from the side with Lucy as the three others charged towards Lullaby, each of them sporting a determined look, well, at least Erza and Gray were. Natsu had a childish grin on his face that looked like he just got a new toy.

"**Ice make: Bazooka!"** Gray shouted as he started firing rounds of ice towards Lullaby's feet, circling him to avoid being stomped on as frost slowly started coating the thick roots of the demon. Erza flew higher into the air before she requipped into her "**Heaven's Wheel Armor",** falling down directly towards Lullaby's head. "Dance, my blades!" The swords floating around her started slashing at the neck, eyes, and face of the demon to distract him.

Lucy looked up as she saw the flying Dragon-slayer place his hands on his mouth in a funnel like motion. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she noticed him breathing in enough air to pop his currently inflated stomach as he started to chant, "**FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" **A massive torrent of flames tunneled down, blasting the frozen in place, badly cut up Lullaby. The roars of pain reached to Clovertown as the demon started thrashing around to put the fires out. "**HUMANS WILL NOT DEFEAT ME, WEAK HUMANS CAN NEVER BEAT ME!" **it roared out as something landed on his shoulder. Concentrating on what it was he ignored the pain to come within feet of the fire mage who currently had a blood red bladed katana. "Mistake number one….humans are stronger than you think. Mistake number two….i'm not human." Natsu grinned wickedly as he got into a forward leaning stance, disappearing in a flash as he reappeared on the other shoulder, slowly sheathing the sword. His voice barely audible over the sound of slowly cracking wood, "**Dragon's cutting slash…Burning Inferno." **

The head of Lullaby slowly dipped forward, much to the confusion of the demon as the Fairy Tail mages watched. Erza taking the chance and summoning a new change of armor, "**Purgatory Armor"**, she raised the mace above her head, gripping it tightly and smashing it down onto the headless body, bits of burned and sliced flesh flying everywhere as the head exploded in flames from the cut.

Lullaby slowly collapsed backwards, its broken and burnt body smashing the Guild Master's building where they had slowly backed the demon up to, on accident of course. No one said anything as the building was destroyed, each master of the other guilds having watched from a distance with open mouths. A flash of light came from the burning, collapsed building. There now laid a broken in half flute, burn marks covering a good portion of the once formidable demon of Zeref. No one spoke a word, even after the battle was over the tension in the air was still thick, mainly because of a certain pink-haired mage and a scarlet haired mage watching one another in silence.

Without so much as a single word, both moved into fighting positions and were about to redraw their weapons and attack. As they each took one step, a sudden trail of earth spikes appeared between the two and a new voice echoed in the clearing. "Natsu-san….Master Lycas wants you to return. The mission is over." Everyone besides Natsu looked at a man who stood between the two of them, wearing a dark earth brown cloak. He had the symbol of a raging mountain on his back. This caused Makarov to frown. "One of the 'Elemental Dragons'" he muttered under his breathe.

Natsu finally looked to the cloaked man, a frown on his face. "Atlas…are you trying to interrupt my fun?" He set his hand on his blade that was sheathed in his other hand. 'Atlas' raised his hands in surrender. "No, Natsu-san….yet the Master would not be pleased if you fought in front of a Wizard Saint and the Titania….please, let us return before I have to call the other two." Natsu growled as he unsheathed the blade a few inches. "That sounds like a threat Atlas….back off now before you lose an arm." Atlas remained in his spot as two shadows appeared behind Natsu, both of them wearing cloaks, one an ocean blue and the other a pale grey. "He sent all three of you….tch." He sheathed his sword, narrowing his eyes at Titania. "We'll finish this another time….Erza." Erza frowned a bit, taken aback by his change in attitude so quickly. She finally settled on a small smile in return, yet she did not know why. "I think we just might….Natsu." Smiling like a kid again he turned away, but not before leveling the two behind him with his sheathed sword, causing Atlas to sigh as he turned to the Fairy Tail mages, mainly Makarov.

"Master Makarov….you have gained quite the respect from our Master over the years…." Makarov perked a brow at this Atlas fellow, he sounded no older than Natsu had, barely an adult most likely. "Oh…you know no one knows who your master even is…I might feel happy about being respected if I knew that much." Atlas was quiet as the two cloaked figures groaned from getting off the ground, both female voices. "Master Avalon Lycus." Makarov widened his eyes in surprise before they returned to normal. "Ah….Avalon, we were friends once. Worked on a few jobs…he was a Fairy Tail member once, so it is understandable. Greet him for me." Atlas merely nodded as he turned and left with the other two, following Natsu.

To the small crowd gathered of his children and the other guild masters, this looked like a normal conversation between two reasonable parties. However, both sides, Reaper's Scythe and Fairy Tail, mainly him and Erza, knew that this wouldn't end so easily. Reaper's Scythe was not a dark guild…even if the things they did deserved that title, yet they had helped light guilds before, truly a confusing bunch of mages who centered around his former friend who currently led the other guild.

A few moments later, Makarov felt a chill down his spine as he glanced over his shouder as the Master from Quatro Cerberus spoke. "We're happy that Lullaby is defeated….and you didn't fight the other side….yet I think you WENT JUST A BIT TOO FAR!" He screamed as he pointed at the ruined building. 'Crap….I forgot about that….wait, MY MONEY! They'll make me pay for this building!'. "Come children we must be going now!" He started running as the three other members felt the eyes of the guild masters on them. Gulping they soon followed after their master, a crowd of angry guild masters chasing after them and yelling threats and curses.

**_Reaper's Scythe, a day later_**

Atlas was punched through a wall, again, for the third time since they got back with Natsu an hour ago. He was still pissed about not fighting the Titania, something made obvious by the number of knocked out guild members and the other two comrades of his trying to restrain the Salamander. "Natsu, enough! You'll get another chance!" Came the voice from the second floor, Master Lycus trying to hide his amused grin, even with his destroyed guild. It made him smile at how often they brawled and fought. "Old man, I could have taken her! Why did you stop me?!" Natsu growled out, dropping the yelping figure in the blue cloak.

"Don't underestimate her Natsu…her armor is only a small part of her power. She will beat you if you keep thinking otherwise." This drew a childish pout from Natsu and a relieved sigh from the remaining members of the guild who were still awake. The only person not seemingly involved in any of this was a small girl, no more than ten, eating pancakes at the bar. Along the entire bar were knocked out bodies of the guild members and crashed furniture, yet none within a five food radius of her. Grumbling, Natsu walked next to the kid and reached for a pancake, only to stop as the girl glared at him. "H-hey….Linzy…care if I take one?" He asked nervously, the man feared by many guilds as a monster was currently scared of a little blonde-headed girl. Linzy looked at him and motioned to his shoulders, which drew a sigh from the pink-haired mage. "Really…again?" She nodded. "Fine…." She clapped her hands with a grin as she jumped onto his shoulders, grabbing his hair like horse reigns. Everyone laughed as Natsu walked around, a pancake in his mouth while giving Linzy a ride through the guild.

No one stayed angry or sad here for long, that much was obvious. Everyone seemed relaxed here, as if nothing bad could happen, unless you stole a certain girl's pancakes, then the shit hit the fan when Natsu or the other three 'Elemental Dragons' found out. Atlas stood next to the other two as they removed their hoods, revealing a black haired woman under the grey cloak and a blue haired woman under the blue cloak. "Jess, Rose, are you two alright from your mission? I didn't get to ask since we had to watch the idiot…." Rose, the blue haired woman, known as the Water-Dragon Slayer blushed a little as she answered. "Yeah…we're fine Atlas. It was only a minor dark guild." Jess, the Wind-Dragon Slayer, rolled her eyes at the two. 'Love-birds need to get together….knew each other for eight years and still hasn't happened yet….'.

Linzy finally had enough and jumped off Natsu's shoulders, much to his relief as he looked up at the mocking smirk of the master. "Alright….so since you have the four of us here, for the first time in nearly eight months, in the same place, is something big happening?" Lycas lost his smirk, an air of seriousness about him as he motioned the four to come and follow. They all glanced at one another as the four 'Dragons' followed their master to his office, shutting the door.

"How much do you know of the demon called Delioria?" This drew surprised looks from three of the four, the fourth currently still hungry after his pancake. An elbow in the ribs drew a yelp and a glare as Jess rolled her eyes, motioning for him to listen. Atlas spoke first, "The demon that ravaged the northern lands for some time and suddenly disappeared, right?" Lycas nodded as he brought out a map, slowly unrolling it to show the outline of an island. "We found him…frozen in a block of ice. One of our contacts were hired as transports to move the demon to this island. I want you to destroy it." There was a moment's pause as Rose spoke next, "Kill it? Why not leave it frozen?"

Lycas sighed. "Someone seems to have found out a way to melt this….unique ice. Normal fire doesn't work from what I understood. It takes some ritual. Yet a member from Grimoure Heart has their eye on this demon." This drew frowns, that was a guild they butted heads with several times in the past and came out even in the scuffles. Natsu, serious for one of the very rare times in the last few days spoke, "So they could be there guarding it?" A nod came from Lycas. "Great….this just turned into a complicated mess. Any idea which of the Kin are there?" He shook his head. "So we're blind….fantastic. Just the way we like it." Jess spoke with a bit of excitement in her voice, it wasn't often that the four of them worked together and when they did….the fury of the dragons came to remind the people of Fiore why they were once feared creatures. "You leave in a week…rest up and prepare." They all nodded and left the office as Lycas looked to a poster on his desk. "….I hope no one takes this job request that was sent out for help…it'd be messy." He shook his head, not knowing that Fairy Tail would be there….with a certain scarlet-haired mage to occupy his favorite fire mage.


	5. We Meet Again!

_**Last Time**_

_Lycas sighed. "Someone seems to have found out a way to melt this….unique ice. Normal fire doesn't work from what I understood. It takes some ritual. Yet a member from Grimoure Heart has their eye on this demon." This drew frowns, that was a guild they butted heads with several times in the past and came out even in the scuffles. Natsu, serious for one of the very rare times in the last few days spoke, "So they could be there guarding it?" A nod came from Lycas. "Great….this just turned into a complicated mess. Any idea which of the Kin are there?" He shook his head. "So we're blind….fantastic. Just the way we like it." Jess spoke with a bit of excitement in her voice, it wasn't often that the four of them worked together and when they did….the fury of the dragons came to remind the people of Fiore why they were once feared creatures. "You leave in a week…rest up and prepare." They all nodded and left the office as Lycas looked to a poster on his desk. "….I hope no one takes this job request that was sent out for help…it'd be messy." He shook his head, not knowing that Fairy Tail would be there….with a certain scarlet-haired mage to occupy his favorite fire mage._

_**Current, General P.O.V.**_

Reaper's Scythe was loud and lively as usual, yet today a special event was taking place the day after the four 'Elemental Dragons' found out about their new assignment. The entire guild currently sat in an arena with the Master looking down from a higher stand so he could oversee the entire battle. In the nearly eighty yard circular field of dirt, four figures stood forty feet from one another, forming a square as they all glared at each other. Master Lycus stood up from his seat and using one of his magics, **Script**, he cast a silencing spell over the crowd as he spoke. "For those who have joined us within the last year….this will be a treat for all of you. Today, we decide who amongst our Dragons is the strongest. Last year's winner, Natsu, will be defending his position in a free for all battle. Without any further nonsense or useless chatter…..BEGIN!"

Roars from the crowd erupted as the magic wore off, each person excited to see one of the rarest battles in the guild, amongst the four most powerful S-class mages no less. Without so much as a word, Jess, Rose, and Atlas darted to one side. Standing shoulder to shoulder they all looked at Natsu who was watching with a raised eyebrow. Muttering came out from the crowd as they saw this was actually becoming a handicap match, bringing forth a grin from the Master. "Sorry Natsu….I don't feel like having to bathe in soothing cream for a week again…" Rose muttered at an attempt of an apology which Natsu waved off. "It's fine, I expected this actually….otherwise this might not be fun."

Tick marks appeared on the heads of the three Dragons who glared at Natsu who was still grinning like an idiot. However that soon changed as the air got thick with tension, each of them now ready to begin on their own signal. Without so much as a warning, Atlas and the other two threw their heads back, breathing in as they suddenly shot their heads forward. "**EARTH/AIR/WATER DRAGON'S ROAR!" **Natsu widened his eyes in surprise at the sudden attack as the three moves joined together. 'Unison raid?! Shit!' he brought his hands up to his mouth in his own roar, "**FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"**, he roared at the attack, hoping to cancel it out before it got too much momentum on him. His fears were realized when his attack could only slow theirs down.

Jumping out of the way, the explosion that occurred next was mind-blowing. Where Natsu once was, a smoking crater forty feet deep and eighty feet wide was there. However, Natsu was nowhere to be seen, much to the annoyance of the other three. Each of them sprinted around until they formed a triangle around the crater, eyes scanning the dust and steam that blocked a good bit of their vision. Rose and Jess suddenly heard a yell as they saw an explosion of flame, the next thing they noticed was Atlas being slammed into the ground between them. Unfortunately for Jess, that lapse in concentration proved to be just enough for Natsu who slammed a fist in her stomach, sending her back next to Atlas.

As the fist went back into the smoke, Rose backed up a little bit, eyes narrowed as she watched for any movement. "Hey….who you looking for?" A voice came from behind her as everything turned dead silent. Whipping around with her arm extended, she growled, "**Water Dragon's Decapitating Slash!"** A blade of water formed around her forearm as she slashed back, hoping to catch Natsu off-guard. It wasn't meant to be as he was no longer there, yet a kick into her back sent her crashing into a now standing Atlas who caught her, yet skid back at the force of the strike. Coughing, Rose got back into position next to the other two as they looked at Natsu who seemed worse for wear.

Standing in only his scarf, shorts, and sandals, Natsu was covered with bruises and small cuts from the massive roar. "You tried taking me out early….smart. However, that was your only chance." A grin formed on his face as his eyes lit up in a blaze, his entire body covered in fire as he charged forward. "**Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!" **He caught Atlas and Jess in the attack, yet Rose dove behind him and crossed her palms over one another, facing Natsu. "**Water Dragon's Roaring Torrent!" **A torrent of water shot from her hands towards Natsu's back who jumped out of the way, instead smacking into Atlas who groaned from the two attacks hitting one after the other. "Shit!" She glanced around until Jess yelled, "Above you!" Turning upwards, she saw Natsu falling down with his next attack, "**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" **

His fist slammed into the ground, forming a decent sized crater as he charged after her, not allowing her the chance to get her bearings straight. **"Fire Dragon's Talon!" **His foot came down, smacking her head into the ground as Atlas placed his hands on Natsu's back. "**Earth Dragon's Upheaval!" **Rocks shot from the ground, pinning Natsu in place as only his head was visible. "**Earth Dragon's Pit!" **Pushing his foot forward, Atlas formed a pit below Natsu that the Fire-Dragon Slayer fell down into. Jess appeared in the air above all of them, clapping her hands together and crushing them down. "**Air Dragon's Pressure Strike!" **A massive gust of wind flowed out from behind her down into the pit, exploding the entire area into rubble as Atlas slung Rose's arm over his shoulder, jumping back from the explosion.

Each of them were panting at the attacks they had used in rapid succession. It didn't help each of them took blows from Natsu, Rose and Atlas more than Jess. They waited for what seemed like hours, but was only a few short minutes. Finally, a hand could be seen clamping onto the edge of the destroyed pit, all of their hearts fell down to their stomachs as they gulped. A chilling voice filled the air, resonating everywhere. **"Ah….that hurt….that really hurt. It seems I can't hold back in this fight…" **Their eyes widened, 'He was holding back?! His stamina is insane!' Backing away, they all started to catch their breath as they prepared to start fighting again. Suddenly, each of them were blown back into the walls as a tower of fire erupted from the pit. The only thing visible was the shadow of Natsu, red glaring eyes forming from the flames. "**You three have gotten much better….yet since you worked together, you shall fall together." **

Groaning as they fell to their feet, they watched the tower of flames die. With blood running from the side of his head, mouth, and from the several gashes along his body, yet none oddly on his scarf, he looked like a dead man walking. His eyes however….they were too alive for such a body, they were the kind that bored into your sole no matter what you tried to do. "**I'm ending this quickly…." **They all tensed, each of them thinking of a counter to what could happen next. "**With a single spark, the fire erupts, from the fire comes the inferno, from the inferno comes destruction…." **All of them looked on in shock as they decided this had to end, NOW.

"**Water Dragon's Decimating Tsunami!", "Earth Dragon's Crushing Mountain!", "Air Dragon's Reaping Gale!" **The three attacks came crashing forward, a wave of water fifty feet high from the front, two twenty foot tall slabs of rock, one on each side of Natsu came rushing forward, as a mass of wind appeared behind Natsu, each one a cutting blade. Natsu smiled as he finished his chant, **"From the destruction rises the burning tower! SCORCHING JUDGEMENT!" **Swinging his arms like a windmill in a horizontal circle, flames erupted from the motion and exploded outwards. A chain reaction of explosions followed, evaporating the wave, consuming the air, and burning the earth to ash. The attack continued towards the three who all brought their hands up to defend themselves, no time to cast any mage.

When the flames connected, each of them felt as if their blood was boiling as they all started yelling in pain as they were tossed into the air from the following explosions that knocked them around. This continued for fifteen seconds until they finally fell to the ground, all of them knocked out. Panting a bit, Natsu walked over to them, grinning like an idiot. "Whew….that was fun! I can't wait for next year!" The roars of the once silence crowd erupted out, nearly shaking the entire arena as they all cheered. A loud clapping came from the side which drew everyone's attention, even the Masters.

Approaching the battle from a tunnel was a woman wearing a rather revealing Kimono, dark black hair with a rather sultry smile on her face, everything above her nose hidden by a mask. However, what caught their attention was the mark on her back, Grimoire Heart! Natsu readied himself, cursing that this happened after such a large battle. However, Master Lycas landed, cracking the earth in front of Natsu and the woman as he appeared. "….speak your person, Grimoire Heart." Lycas spoke in a calm tone, yet the magic building around him was anything but.

"Ah ah….so mean." She smiled a bit further and gave a small bow, showing off too much cleavage for Master Lycas's liking. "I am here to…persuade you from going to the island. You hold no reason to be there. If you appear there, we will take that as an act of war." The woman spoke, all the while glancing at Natsu's body. "Our actions have little to do with your motives. I had friends who died to that monster…he will die. Whether it be war or not, know that we will crush you." Master Lycas spoke, drawing a frown from the woman. "Do not be so quick, Master Lycas…leave it be. We will forget your past….transgressions if you do not interfere." As she finished, she found a blood red katana tip held to her throat with a glaring Natsu. "The old man said what he wanted to do…now leave." The woman grinned, running a hand over his abs which caused the blade to dig a bit further into her chin, not that she minded. "Oh…Salamander, don't be so rude, I was leaving anyways. What you and the rest do….we'll see how it works out." An orb appeared in her hand as she backed away, vanishing in a small flash of light as the orb vanished with her.

Glancing at the frowning Master, Natsu spoke, "Hey old man…that was one of the seven Kin, it looks like we just found out who is at the island." Lycas nodded. "Lost Magic….the kind that controls Time….dangerous." Looking at the three unconscious members of his guild behind him, Lycus sighed and spoke to the medics. "Take them to the infirmary…. Natsu, go back to getting ready for Galuna Island." Natsu nodded, serious for all of three seconds before he grinned. "So….I can fight it, right?" Lycas smacked Natsu upside the head, gaining a pout as Lycas walked away. "Only if you need to. Otherwise destroy it in another way…." Natsu did a silent fist pump, excited. A sudden growling of his stomach made him blush as Atlas muttered in his sleep, "Garbage disposal…flame brain roasted idiot…." A tick mark appeared on Natsu's head, hitting the already knocked out man as the medics screamed in panic. Walking off from the cursing medics who went back to healing, he sighed and headed to his room. 'Tch…I'll give someone half my pay if something interesting happens at this stupid island….'

_**Fairy Tail P.O.V.**_

Makarov was crying currently over the bill that was in his hands as he finished transferring the money over to pay for the destroyed guild masters building. Another troubling matter was that Erza was currently in custody from the Magic Council, because they needed a scapegoat for all the destruction caused. Because they couldn't find Salamander to hold him to trial, they went with the next best thing…Fairy Tail.

He knew she would be back soon, they simply needed to make it a show for the public, to show that the Council was serious about any injustices. She'd likely be back by tonight or as late as tomorrow. Grumbling a little bit, he suddenly felt drowsy as members of the guild started falling onto the tables and floors, asleep. Concentrating a bit, he focused on the doors being opened, a masked man with an oddly close look to a ninja was walking towards him. "Mystogun….welcome back. How did the mission go?" Mystogun looked to Makarov, nodding his head. "It went fine….however, the guild was already destroyed when I got there. Reaper's Scythe decimated them, I only cleaned the scraps." Makarov nodded, recently Reaper's Scythe was moving a lot, so he wouldn't be surprised if they saw them again soon.

Mystogun turned to the request board, picking up a job and walking over to Makarov, signing his name in the job request book that he took it. "I'm taking this one." Makarov simply watched as Mystogun started walking away, "Hey, remove the sleep spell." The request from the master was met with a countdown, "Five….four…..three….two….one." He left the guild hall and suddenly everyone started to wake up. The first to say something was Gray who grumbled, "Damn Mystogun…he keeps doing that."

Lucy looked at Gray, confused, "Mystogun, who's that?" Mirajane looked over to Lucy as she started to explain, "He's an S-class mage who comes in from time to time. No one really knows what he looks like, yet he is considered as one of the strongest in the guild, next to-". "Next to me." A voice came from the second railing, revealing a blonde haired man with a scar running over his right eye in the shape of a lightning bolt. "Don't judge him too hard, he's rather shy. Though only me and Master have seen him though, the rest of you are too weak to stay awake." He mockingly smirked down to all of them, the rest of the guild frowning and glaring up at him.

Gray stood up, shouting, "Shut it Laxus! Come down here and say that!" Laxus tilted his head. "You offered the fight…so come up here." Gray was about to go forward until Mirajane caught his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "Only S-class can go to the second floor, Gray. Remember." She narrowed her eyes a bit, even if she was angry at the attitude of Laxus. Gray numbly nodded and sat back down, bringing a laugh from Laxus. "Weak, weak! All of you are so weak! Hahaha!" No one said anything to the man, all trying to ignore him as the master glanced up at his grandson. "Laxus, that's enough. Go back to what you were doing." Laxus grinned a bit, "Right right….I don't have time to worry about those brats anyways." He turned around, disappearing into the second floor.

Lucy looked to Gray again and spoke, "He's kind of a jerk….that was Laxus?" Gray nodded once and growled. "Master's grandson and S-class….he's insanely strong." Slamming his fist on the table, Gray growled again and glared at the second floor. "I'll show him one day what happens when you're such a jackass." Mira and Lucy sighed, going back to eating and cleaning mugs.

Gray had a lingering look on the second floor though, a thought crossing his mind as he smirked a bit. There was a way to prove just how strong he was to everyone else, and it just might get him closer to S-class while he is doing it.

_**Six days later, Fairy Tail, General P.O.V.**_

Mira was looking in the job request journal, making sure that she had everything documented as she checked the second floor's requests. She suddenly frowned, noticing of the original five jobs, only four were there. Looking at the journal, she saw none of them took the request and master said that Mystogun only took an A-class one. Walking to the first floor she went to the old pervert at the counter who was currently staring at Cana's breasts. "Master….we're missing a job on the second floor. One of the S-class requests, the one for Galuna Island, is gone." Erza who overheard looked over with a confused expression, she was looking for Gray and Lucy the entire day so far.

Master Makarov frowned and looked at the journal. "That is…concerning. Maybe it fell down somewhere?" Mira looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's possible….or someone from another guild took the request already and it disappeared off the board." Makarov nodded a bit before a voice coming from above on the next floor spoke. "Gray, the blonde bimbo, and Elfman took it last night." Erza started yelling at Laxus, "WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM?!"

Laxus merely shrugged, "Why should I care about those weak idiots? If they die, we're all better off anyways." Mira and Erza clenched their fists along with the rest of the now paying attention guild. "Laxus, stop! Erza, go after them and bring them back, now!" Erza nodded, running out the door but not before glaring at Laxus one more time who was grinning like a mad idiot.

'I'm going to kill those three….taking an S-class mission, idiots!' She growled as she ran to the train, getting a ticket to the port closest to the island. All she could do now was wait, she was nearly half a day behind them already and she hadn't even left town yet! 'Oh…they are so going to regret this….'

_**Lucy, Gray, and Elfman's P.O.V.**_

Lucy was sweating a bit as she timidly spoke to Gray and Elfman. "H-hey….this wasn't such a good idea, you know? Maybe we can turn back now and everything will be fine?" She asked with a hopeful smile, but Elfman snorted. "If you're a man you can do a quest like this, like men!" 'But I'm a woman though' Lucy sweat-dropped as Gray sighed and decided to speak. "Lucy, you know how you are always so worried about rent, right?" Lucy nodded a little.

"This job has enough money in it to pay the rent on your apartment for the next several years, it's 5 million jewels!" Lucy gaped a bit as she looked closer at the reward, suddenly grinning. "Let's get a quest done!" She yelled as the other two grinned at how easy it was to convince her to stay with them.

However, after three hours, it was becoming rather difficult to think that they could do this. No one would take them besides this creepy looking cloaked man that resembled a lizard and bug combination. Finally deciding to go with him, they were almost there when a massive wave appeared and the man was suddenly gone, causing all of them to panic. "Ah, shit!" Gray yelled as the wave collapsed on them.

_**That night, Elemental Dragon's P.O.V.**_

Each of them were groaning as they crawled onto the land, kissing the ground as if it was the most amazing thing any of them had ever seen. Who put four motion-sick Dragon Slayers on the same boat towards a distant island? Oh right, their master. Each of them were already thinking of revenge against the old fart. After several minutes they could stand and walk normally, albeit with a light shade of green on their faces.

"Ugh….i'm hungry." Natsu spoke, earning nods from the others as they each brought out some dried meat and ate as they walked. It wasn't much, but it would stave off the hunger for a few hours. They went to the top of the mountain, near some old ruins as they all slowly climbed down, well in Jess's case, floated. They couldn't risk using too much magic, or else they would run the risk of being found. As they went further into the ruins they entered a cavern with what they were looking for, Deloria, trapped in a mountain of ice.

"So….the ice is supposed to be unbreakable…how do we kill it?" Jess spoke with annoyance, earning a frown from Natsu and thoughtful looks from Rose and Atlas. All of a sudden, each of them snapped their heads to a tunnel, darting back behind some rubble as they heard voice.

"It seems we have intruders, Reigei-sama." A man with large eyebrows spoke, the man wearing the mask was the leader apparently. "I noticed…I fought one, he was from Fairy Tail." Natsu suddenly got much more interested in this conversation as he strained his ears to pick up every detail. "Apparently there's three of them…an ice mage, a Celestial Spirit mage, and a Take-over mage. Deal with them and on the way…destroy that village. We don't need them to bother us when we are so close."

A woman nodded and responded, "Hai, Reigei-sama." They all exited the cavern, leaving the Elemental Dragon's to look at one another. "So….I vote we wait for them to unfreeze it, then we kick its ass. Any better plan?" Natsu looked around, no one spoke against it. "Good….explore the island in the meantime, be back in two hours." Each of them disappeared as they jumped away, heading to different areas.

Natsu was currently following a familiar scent, not ten minutes later he came face to face with a masked old man. "Oy, woman, what's with the outfit?" The man tilted his head with a grin. "Damn…I couldn't even fool you, huh?" It suddenly turned into a woman, this time with no mask. In a normal person's opinion, she looked rather stunning and very enticing. In Natsu's opinion? He couldn't care less, the only woman he really had any interest in was Erza Scarlet, for numerous reasons. "Not when I can smell that perfume on your…so you are the one who is guarding this place, huh?" She nodded a bit and leaned against the tree. "To avoid a…conflict with you and the other three, we will allow you to try and defeat Deloria after he is freed. That is the only option." Natsu shrugged. "That was our plan anyways, you're hoping we die, but we'll kill it."

The woman smiled a bit at the confidence. "We'll see, Natsu-kun." He shivered, this lady reminded him too much of Shay who bugged him for a date the entire week. With that, she disappeared into the shadows, leaving Natsu to frown. However, that changed to a smile. Another familiar scent just caught his attention, Erza Scarlet is here, on this island.

Dashing off, he ran towards the village unknowingly, as well as currently following a giant flying rat.

_**Atlas and Rose P.O.V.**_

"Atlas, what if we get caught by Natsu or Jess?" She muttered as she sat in his lap, his arms around her waist. "It's fine…can't you smell them? They're on the other side of the island. What I'm more concerned of is on how to fight that damn thing once the ice is gone….or when I get my next kiss." He gave a playful grin at Rose who pouted, smacking him up the back of his head which earned her a yelp. "Perverted Dragon…" She muttered under her breathe as they both suddenly saw a rat flying in the air in the opposite direction.

Both of them looked at each other, confusion written across their faces as they shook their heads. They must still be sick from the boat ride over here.

_**Jess P.O.V.**_

"A flying rat….how surprising. I've seen everything now." She muttered as she saw on top of a very large tree. "But about damn time those two got together, they need to remember we can smell them all over each other….must have happened in the last week." She grumbled a bit more as she watched the rat, holding a bucket, travel to the village. As it was dropping the bucket, a roar of fire blew the substance apart.

Sighing, she knew Natsu would do something, yet she saw as the stuff burned the ground away. 'Acid? Huh….' She watched two more explosions erupt a few minutes later.

_**Erza P.O.V.**_

"Gray, Lucy, Elfman! Do you know what you three did?!" They all bowed their heads in shame as she growled at them, fire burning in her eyes that promised punishment and pain. "The master will deal with you three when we return…but since you took this job and we are here….this mission takes priority." Yelling from outside drew their attention.

Each of them ran outside to see a flying rat dropping some kind of jelly-like stuff over them. A sudden, "**Fire Dragon's Roar!"** caught their attention. Standing not fifteen feet from them was Natsu Dragneel. As the eyes of Titania and Salamander locked, both of them felt a warm burning feeling in their cheeks. Erza currently in a rather revealing set of armor from rapid movement and Natsu in only shorts, scarf, and sandals. His vest a few feet away, neatly folded.

"Yo, Erza!" He waved a bit as Erza slowly waved back. "Natsu….why are you here?" He grinned sheepishly. "A job, sorry. Can't talk now, blowing stuff up." Two mages were walking towards them as the acid burned the surrounding forest, avoiding the village, mostly. Before either could speak however, each were driven into the ground by Natsu with flaming fists. "Right, so where were we?" He clapped his hands together at the stunned Fairy Tail mages.


	6. Let's Bring the House Down!

**_Last Time_**

_"Gray, Lucy, Elfman! Do you know what you three did?!" They all bowed their heads in shame as she growled at them, fire burning in her eyes that promised punishment and pain. "The master will deal with you three when we return…but since you took this job and we are here….this mission takes priority." Yelling from outside drew their attention._

_Each of them ran outside to see a flying rat dropping some kind of jelly-like stuff over them. A sudden, "__**Fire Dragon's Roar!"**__ caught their attention. Standing not fifteen feet from them was Natsu Dragneel. As the eyes of Titania and Salamander locked, both of them felt a warm burning feeling in their cheeks. Erza currently in a rather revealing set of armor from rapid movement and Natsu in only shorts, scarf, and sandals. His vest a few feet away, neatly folded._

_"Yo, Erza!" He waved a bit as Erza slowly waved back. "Natsu….why are you here?" He grinned sheepishly. "A job, sorry. Can't talk now, blowing stuff up." Two mages were walking towards them as the acid burned the surrounding forest, avoiding the village, mostly. Before either could speak however, each were driven into the ground by Natsu with flaming fists. "Right, so where were we?" He clapped his hands together at the stunned Fairy Tail mages._

**_Now, General P.O.V._**

Just as he turned to face the mages, both of the figures pulled themselves out of the ground. Natsu perked a brow as they did so, 'Must be rather resilient….hopefully they don't break easy.' He grinned a bit as he held up one finger to the Fairy Tail mages, only to notice that a giant rat was currently flying off with the blonde and overly muscular members. The finger that he was holding up slowly went limp as he sighed. Erza and Gray were currently still looking at Natsu, one finding it odd she was glad to see this man as the other was cautious, remembering that these two were fighting once.

"Right…gimme a sec here and I'll be right back." Natsu started walking towards the two unknown mages who had decided to wait for him. As he got closer, the one with the overbearing eyebrows took it upon himself to speak. "I am Yuuka of the – " was as far as he got, a fist smashing into him again. The dog….human looking thing jumped at him and got a guillotine from Natsu, spinning and knocking the person down. The second he did however both stood up, "Let me finish my sentences!" The one known as Yuuka said. "I am Toby!" The other man was grinning a bit as he spoke.

Erza and Gray watched as Natsu suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of Yuuka who suddenly erected a barrier that stopped the Fire Dragon-Slayer's flames. This drew a confused look from him as he slowly grinned, his elbow igniting into flame and propelling like a rocket which he used to knock Yuuka back which he quickly followed up with, "**Fire Dragon's Roar!" **Without any chance to raise his barrier, the roar got him full blast as his badly burned body fell to the ground, his eyes rolled up in the back of his head as he passed out from the pain.

Dodging to the side, a hand with claws at the end of it was there where his body was a second ago. "I'm stronger than Yuuka, my claws are jelly-fish claws, one touch and you are paralyzed!" Natsu raised a hand to his forehead, "You got something here" was the simply reply, and as expected, Toby followed the mimic, shocking and paralyzing himself. "Stronger my ass…."

Erza was about to go forward and question the man why he was here if it wasn't for the attack that came next directed towards her, **"Fire Dragon's Claw!" **Natsu's foot came down like a decapitating blade which was swiftly blocked by a now glaring Erza. Natsu had a small smile on his face as he took a stance, like a wall, in front of the path that led to the temple. Gray was growling as he stood next to Erza, "Hey, what the hell flame brain! What did we do to you!?" This earned him a half-hearted look from the fire mage who seemed like he couldn't care what the man was asking, yet he decided to humor him. "I'm here on a job…Fairy Tail, leave. This does not concern you so I will simply ask that you forget that I was here and sail home. We are taking over."

Erza and Gray looked at each other, about to ask what he meant as three figures came from the shadows of the forest and stood next to Natsu. Each one of these was radiating raw magic, easily outclassing Gray but stopping just short of Erza's. The only one who was smiling was Natsu as he motioned for the other three to step back. After sharing a look, they all stood back as Erza did the same for Gray. The 'Ex-quip' mage and the fire mage stood ten feet apart from one another, the former glaring while the latter was smiling like an idiot.

Both suddenly moved as a flaming kick found a shield to slam into as Erza skid back a few feet. 'What the hell, he made me go back? His raw strength is insane….' Erza glanced over the edge of the shield as Natsu came charging back, his fists slamming into the steel over and over. Just when she thought he was going to break his hands, a loud '**CRACK' **filled the clearing. The steel started cracking under the assault as she changed into a different armor, "**Heaven's Wheel: Blumenbatt!" **Swords danced around Natsu, slashing his arms that he used to protect himself. This earned surprised looks between the other three Dragons and a smirk from Gray. "**Fire Dragon's Raging Crushing Fang!" **

Natsu's hands turned a bit more reptilian as he charged forward, the uppercut connected in Erza's stomach when he had feinted to her chin. The following downward swing slammed into her back as she switched her sword out for a staff, planting it in the ground to deliver an overhead kick to Natsu's face. Both fell back, one with a scowl and the other looking excited. This continued for several minutes, Erza changing into a number of armors as Natsu kept rushing and charging like a bull, but oddly getting rather positive results. Both of them were panting a little, burns and bruises for one, cuts and bruises for the other.

Both were about to charge at it again as a wall of water rose between them. Growling, Natsu looked at Rose who simply pointed to the sky to the position of the moon. Looking up, he noticed that it was the time that they would have to go back to the temple to prepare for the release of Deloria. Shaking his head he extinguished the flames around his body as Erza slowly did the same with her armor. "Interrupted twice….I am not enjoying this, Titania. But the job comes first and the old man would kill me if I didn't do this." Gray decided to interject, "What job? Why are you here?"

The man wearing a brown cloak, the one that they recognized as the man from before, Atlas spoke. His lips seemed oddly bruised though, as if he was doing some rather…questionable acts in the past hour. "We are here to kill Deloria and terminate any who free him." "Bullshit!" Came the response from the ice-mage. "Do you honestly think you can kill that thing? It destroyed entire towns in the North country!" He yelled a bit at the emotionless figure. "It does not matter what we think, we will simply fulfill the job given to us by the master. Goodbye." He turned to leave, Rose and Jess following him as Natsu remained there.

Looking at Natsu, Erza frowned a bit as the fire-mage gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry we got cut short….another time." He turned and followed the others out of the burned and broken clearing from the fighting. Gray was shaking in anger a bit as he looked at Erza. Both of them suddenly heard bushes moving as the figures of Elfman and Lucy came out, both bruised a little but otherwise fine. Lucy muttering something about killing all rats and Elfman shouting, "Man! A nice battle!" He stopped as he felt the tension in the air though, frowning a bit.

"I won't let them do their mission, they'd kill Lyon!" Gray shouted as he started running up a side-path to try and cut ahead of the four Reaper's Scythe members, only to be stopped by a sword from Erza. "Do not rush into this like an idiot….we need a plan. Lucy, you and I will take out the ritualists, Gray and Elfman will go out to the lower levels while Elfman uses his 'Takeover' magic and smash through one side's pillars, tilting the temple. This should stop the moon-drip from hitting the ice while Gray deals with Lyon. Understood?" They all nodded as Erza started charging ahead, shortly followed by the rest.

**_Reaper's Scythe, P.O.V._**

Natsu and Atlas walked at the front of the group, a smug smile on the Fire Dragon-slayer's face and a beat red on the Earth Dragon-Slayer's. "So….I trust I won't be getting any nephews or nieces, right?" Atlas turned a bit redder as Rose was basically a tomato at this point. Jess had the same smug smile that Natsu did. The second all four of them left the clearing, Jess pounced on the chance to expose the two members of the 'Elemental Dragons'. "Wha-what?! No! We didn't do anything like that!" Atlas waved his hands in front of him as Natsu pointed to his lips. "Really? It looks like you were kissing hard enough to break a boulder from the bruises. It might have turned into something more than that." Jess chuckled from behind them as Atlas smacked Natsu up the back of his head. "Stop it idiot! You'll make Rose pass out!"

The girl in question looked like she was about to feint from the amount of erotic images running in her head. Jess saw this and snapped her fingers in front Rose's face. "Head out of the clouds raindrop, we need to be serious for a minute." The others nodded as Rose seemed to calm down a bit, albeit with a light blush still present. "What are we gonna do about those Fairy Tail mages? I smell them, they'll get to the temple ahead of us."

Natsu shrugged a bit, "Let them, they'll distract the ritual people and the masked kid who smells like dried ice. Let's us fight Deloria alone." With little to no flaw in the idea, surprisingly enough, that ended the conversation as they continued until they appeared at the front of the temple. Explosions from the top and the inside made them aware of the fighting as they all entered. Glancing at the side, he saw the same overly muscular figure from earlier chasing the woman who was cross-dressing as a man. Said woman or man hybrid, whatever they wanted to be, frowned as they saw the group approaching but kept dodging the annoyed fists of the Fairy following her/him.

Shaking his head a bit, they slowly made it to the cavern as the ice was melting. Getting rid of their cloaks, each one of them formed a side by side line in front of the slowly melting demon, an unusually serious air about them as their magic spiked, shaking the room as their respective elements started to appear around them. As the head of the demon became free, it let loose an earth-shattering roar that only made the four slayers glare a bit more as they waited.

**_Gray P.O.V. _**

I clutched my side a bit more, cursing as I walked through the caverns. Lyon put up a better fight than I wanted to give the idiot credit for, I didn't think that there could be so much pain from simply being frozen. It was odd that I felt cold, considering I spent most of my childhood in the snow. My thoughts were cut short as a good bit of the mountain started shaking, 'Woah! That's some serious magic there, whoever is up ahead has to be one of those other dudes from that flame idiot's guild!' Entering the cavern just as the roar from the demon erupted, he noticed the building magic between the four dragon-slayers, each of them wearing a hardened expression of an emotionless mask.

"F-finally, Deloria! I…I will d-defeat you and surpass U-Ur!" A shaky voice came from behind him on the ground. Glancing at Lyon I frowned a bit, "Lyon, you can't fight like this you idiot, give up!" Lyon shook his head and crawled closer only to be stopped by me, who planted a foot on his back. Another ear-splitting roar filled the cavern, forcing me and Lyon to cover our ears. Erza, an oddly very bruised Elfman, and Lucy appeared next to me, each of them sporting a grim expression as the demon suddenly shattered the remaining ice.

"We need to leave….we aren't any match for this thing…those four are as good as dead." I indicated to the four who suddenly let their power sky-rocket through the roof, the magic of each of their elements blending into the very air before them as the room got wet, hot, the air thick and the ground shaking. "I-I don't know….that magic….they're serious, if they fight this entire island would be destroyed." I heard Lucy mutter from beside me, causing me to frown. We all watched dumb-founded as the four mages walked towards the roaring beast, only for them to each disappear and appear on all four sides of the demon.

**_General P.O.V._**

A grinning Ultear watched her orb with interest at the coming fight, another orb next to her head and watching the same thing. From the orb floating next to her, a masculine voice slowly spoke, "So….the Dragons have come. Let us see if they are truly as strong as rumored….if Deloria can't defeat them, we have no use for him." Ultear nodded a bit with a smirk, her eyes transfixed on a certain pink-haired Dragon-slayer who stood at the front of the raging demon.

Back in the cavern, each of the dragon-slayers threw their heads back and let loose a roar which connected in the middle, creating a loud explosion as they waited for the dust to clear. A massive hand shot out, almost grabbing hold of Jess who jumped into the air, levitating thanks to her magic as a beam of magic shot towards Atlas who jumped into the ground to avoid the attack. Once it was finished, a massive hole in the side of the mountain, where you could see the other end and ocean was clearly visible. Atlas frowned a bit as he looked back to the demon, the dust no longer floating as Deloria swung at Natsu.

Natsu jumped onto his arm and ran up the massive appendage, clocking the demon in the chin, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" **Deloria's head cocked back a bit but snapped forward to try and bite the mage in half. Flipping back, the demon was about to charge but a massive glaive of water came up from the floor, "**Water Dragon's Slashing Glaive!" **Rose stood there as the demon turned around to face her. Roaring, the wound slowly closed on his back, causing all of them to widen their eyes. The demon suddenly blurred out of vision and appeared with a claw trying to cut Rose in half. She jumped back just in time, but a light gash across her side made her wince. 'He can heal injuries and power up the more we piss him off….he sounds a little like Natsu.'

Jess and Atlas appeared in the air, each of them with a fist raised as they came crashing down onto the shoulders of the demon. "**Earth Dragon's Crippling Fist!" "Air Dragon's Swirling Typhoon!" **Both attacks landed on the demon's back as Natsu appeared under the collapsing figure, his body coated in flames as he jumped up, "**Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"** Slamming his body into the chest of Deloria, the demon was caught between the three attacks as Rose appeared in front of his face, both hands clasped together. "**Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Wave of the Ocean!" **The other three dragon-slayers danced back as water appeared on all sides, a massive wave surrounding the demon as it crashed down onto his body, the pressure forcing roars of pain from the demon of Zeref.

"**Lightning Empress's Armor!" **A sudden shout came from behind them as an arc of lightning shot, electrocuting the demon as it cried out in pain again. Landing next to them, Erza Scarlet frowned a bit at the looks from the other four. "You need a complimenting element to your water….the other three work decently together but no one can help your Water attacks." Natsu sighed a bit as he nodded to the others who didn't have any issues.

The water exploded though as the slightly sparking form of Deloria appeared as it slowly started to heal from the burns. Once again, its magic skyrocketed as it disappeared and a sweeping hand forced the five mages to back away. Natsu nodded to Jess as he jumped towards her, "**Air Dragon's Roar!" **Natsu twirled with the momentum of the roar as he lit his body on fire. **"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Exploding Crimson Flame Blade!" **the attack from the enhanced momentum of the Dragon-slayer that allowed him to get so close forced the entire cavern to shake under the pure power of the technique.

"Scarlet!" Erza snapped her head to look at Atlas and Rose, the former of which concentrating as his hands hit the ground. "**Earth Dragon's Landslide!" **A shudder went through the earth as the badly damaged demon fell into a large pit which quickly filled with water from Rose's, "**Water Dragon's Roar!" **As the pit filled with water, Erza jumped into the air, concentrating as a massive ball of lightning formed at the end of her spear. Bringing her arm back, she threw it directly down into the water as the roars of agony from the demon filled the air, the entire island hearing the cries of the burned and electrocuted demon.

Each of them were panting a bit from the use of magic as a hand shot from the water, slowly dragging out the battered form of Deloria. Natsu sighed as he caught his breathe, stepping in the front of them. "Guys….step back." He held his hand out, the katana he had used for so many years appearing in his grip, sheathed. The eyes of the three dragons widened in shock, jumping back as Jess tugged on Erza, forcing her to jump back as well. Getting into a forward leaning stance just as Deloria pulled himself out of the pit, Natsu took a step as he vanished. "**Secret Slashing Step…..Fire Dragon's Reaping Blade." **

A massive cut, from the left hip to the right shoulder of Deloria appeared, fire gushing out as the demon fell to the ground, rolling in pain. The entire wall behind him had that same slash mark on it as Natsu cursed, the demon was far more durable than Lullaby. "Shit…that would have cut Lullaby in two and I barely cut a quarter of the way through him." He muttered as he jumped back to the others who frowned at the little damage that was done.

"Titania." Erza snapped her head to look at Natsu with a confused face. "Gimme some of your fire." It didn't take a second before she switched into her '**Flame Empress's Armor'**. A large ball of fire appeared at the tip of the blade as she swung it at Natsu who grabbed it like it was solid. Slowly munching on it he sighed in relief a bit. "Four-way roar." The eyes of Natsu, Jess, and Rose looked to Atlas like he was mad. "Add on top of that an electrifying attack by the Titania….it should finish this. Look, he can't heal so fast anymore." They all looked, and in fact it was true. The cut was closing, but not nearly as fast. When it did the scar from the attack was still there, a panting demon slowly standing.

Natsu frowned a bit before he nodded with the others. Erza switched her armors back and stood behind Rose, building up her most powerful arc of lightning yet. Suddenly all of them slowly leaned their upper bodies back, gathering the power to use this attack. It took all of ten seconds to gain enough magic as they all suddenly leaned forward quickly. "**Elemental Roar of the Dominating Dragon!" **The attack which they became famous for only turned that much more deadly as electricity swirled around it. What came next was messy and graphic, something the stunned figures of Gray, Lyon, Lucy, and Elfman wouldn't forget.

The Fire burned away the flesh of the demon, the Water slicing apart the muscles that lay beneath, the Air like whipping blades cut deep gashes into the body of the demon, the Earth imbedding itself into the body of the demon, entire segments piercing through the body all the way to the back. Finally, the lightning forced the slicing blades to shock whatever muscle it cut, keeping it from healing. The roar did not stop, it only continued as it slowly wore down the demon who was crying out in agonizing pain. After an entire minute of continuing the attack, all that remained was a charred, broken, and sliced apart corpse.

It slowly fell to ash as the five mages collapsed to the ground, panting as each of them seemed to be on their last legs. A vibrating orb in Atlas' pocket caught his attention as he slowly pulled it out to reveal the figure of their master. "Is it done?" Atlas simply nodded, turning the orb to look at the pile of ashes and the tired bodies of the others. "Ah….you had to use it, didn't you?" He got a grunt in response. "Oh? Isn't that the Titania?" Erza snapped her head to look at the image of the man. Truth be told, she was expecting a frowning, menacing looking man with evil eyes. However, the last thing she thought she would see was a kindly smiling face of an aged man, eyes filled with a kind light but carried an air of a mischievous nature.

"Natsu, the other party has contacted me and they are not pleased that Deloria is dead, as I could care less what they think. Good job, come home." The mentioned dragon-slayer nodded, standing up as the other three did the same. Offering a hand to Erza, she hesitantly took it and was surprised at how warm the feeling was, forcing her to blush a little bit. How did they not even a week ago go from trying to kill each other to working together, albeit for survival? Shaking her head, she caught the fire in the eyes of the Salamander. "We work together this once…it won't happen again Titania. The next time we fight…it ends."

Frowning, she slowly nodded as Natsu let go, his pink hair shadowing his eyes as the other three followed him as he left the cavern, stopping next to a slowly crying Lyon. "Stupid brat…learn to work with others and don't be by yourself. I learned how painful that was." Lyon glanced at the man and looked away, remembering how he used his own comrades to dry and get his goal to come to fruition. Taking his silence as an answer, the four dragons left.

At the end of the tunnel was a masked man with a frown on his face, holding an orb as he looked directly at Natsu. Each of them besides the fire dragon-slayer tensed a bit as he walked to them. "It seems….I underestimated you four. The master is not pleased with the result…but he feels that since the demon lost, its power was not worth keeping. He is being too kind…" He didn't get to finish as a smoldering hand held him by the throat. "Listen, bitch. Threaten my guild again and we'll finish that war that we made a truce for last year. This time we won't stop until we turn you all into a distant memory." He dropped him as he rubbed his throat, his illusionary magic running out to reveal the form of the woman from earlier.

She glared at the man a bit as she took off her mask. "Do not get full of yourselves….yet I will take my leave. Until we meet again, Natsu-kun~" She spoke, curling a finger on his chest as she vanished with her orb. Jess elbowed him in the ribs, "So….sleeping with the enemy huh?" An annoyed sigh came from the fire mage as he started walking, gaining chuckles from the other three.

**_Fairy Tail P.O.V. as Natsu and co. left_**

Erza was panting on the ground as the others came to her as Natsu and his comrades left the cavern. Each of their faces held amazement as they regarded what was once a very powerful demon of the Black Mage, Zeref. "Erza, that was a manly fight!" No clues for who said that. "Um…Erza-san, are you okay?" Lucy looked concerned as Erza unintentionally switched back into her 'Heart Cruz Armor', likely from the huge exhaustion caused by her overuse of magic.

"I-I'm fine….just tired….but, the mission." She glared at Lyon, the reason why they were here not escaping her mind. "What did you do…to turn the villagers into demons?" Lyon didn't spare a single shred of emotion as he spoke, "Nothing….we stayed at the temple the entire time." Examining his words, she heard shouts come from the tunnel as two men and a woman appeared and rushed to Lyon who was sitting on a rock. "Lyon-sama! Are you okay?!" He waved the woman off as he smiled a bit. "I'm fine…just….tired." He finally ended as he looked to the ashes of Deloria that was slowly starting to disappear into the wind of the cavern. The three looked around and noticed the pile of ashes, all of them smiling. "So….it's over." Lyon nodded as they all smiled wider, surprising Lyon by hugging him tightly. He didn't say anything though as he smiled in return a bit. 'I'm….never going to abandon my friends again. Ever.' Lyon ran this thought through his mind as Erza and the rest watched.

Turning to her guild members she frowned a bit as an idea struck her. "I think I know what happened….we need to get to the village though and wait until the moon is directly above us." They nodded, and glancing one last time at the four other mages, left them to catch up and draw closer.

That night, Erza brought to light that they were actually all demons to begin with, yet the Moon Drip created a shell of magic that interfered with their memories after she shattered it with a spear she threw into the sky. They had to turn down the reward that was offered because of the trouble that they put the villagers through, yet Lucy did take a golden Celestial gate key.

Walking back to the pirate ship that Erza had 'kindly borrowed', she turned to the others, a vicious grin on her face. "Don't forget….punishment awaits all of you." The color from the members of Fairy Tail, bar Scarlet, turned a delightful shade of white that would make the purest snow jealous. Boarding the ship, Erza noticed a smaller one floating away a good distance with four figures on it. "Natsu Dragneel….we will meet again. By then I will be strong enough to win the fight you so desperately want." She smiled a little bit. Erza was oddly captivated by the idea of meeting the childish fire dragon-slayer again. Turning back to the helm, she started her trip back to port.


	7. Unwilling Participants

**_Last Time_**

_Walking back to the pirate ship that Erza had 'kindly borrowed', she turned to the others, a vicious grin on her face. "Don't forget….punishment awaits all of you." The color from the members of Fairy Tail, bar Scarlet, turned a delightful shade of white that would make the purest snow jealous. Boarding the ship, Erza noticed a smaller one floating away a good distance with four figures on it. "Natsu Dragneel….we will meet again. By then I will be strong enough to win the fight you so desperately want." She smiled a little bit. Erza was oddly captivated by the idea of meeting the childish fire dragon-slayer again. Turning back to the helm, she started her trip back to port._

**_Erza's Group, General P.O.V._**

Erza led the group back to the town of Magnolia, out of the four of them she was the only one who looked somewhat healthy, unlike the three trailing behind her, almost devoid of all life. Her punishment to the three of them would last a few days and keep them in check, as well as make sure that there would be some peace and quiet in the Guild. All of them though frowned as they entered the town, whispers coming from the crowd as Elfman, Gray, and Lucy finally went back to normal, now intent on listening to the whispers. Erza was slightly worried about all of the hushed tones, so she sped up a little bit to get back to the guild, wondering if something had happened while they were gone.

As they all turned the corner to look at their guild, their eyes widened in shock and narrowed in anger not a second later, all except Lucy who was still shocked. Lucy slowly spoke, her tone barely above a whisper, "Who….who could have done this?" A voice spoke up from behind them, drawing all their attention to Mirajane who was standing with a small frown. "Phanton Lord….they got us. It was last night. Come…the Master and the others are in the basement." She didn't even pay any attention to Erza, not in the mood for a dispute as they all entered the battered guild, iron poles sticking out from every section of the wall and ceiling. Descending the stairs to the lowest level of the guild, they came upon the rest of Fairy Tail, drinking quietly with a somber mood present. The only one who seemed to be in somewhat high spirits was Master Makarov who was grinning and drinking.

Mirajane just slowly went behind the bar as the four of them went to Master Makarov, Gray trying to speak but the old man beat him to it. "Ah, your back! Time for punishment!" Gray growled as he shook his head, "This isn't the time for that Master! They trashed our guild, we need to go pay them back!" Makarov, ignoring the outburst, gave a karate chop to the top of Gray and Elfman's heads, but a groping spank to Lucy. "Punishment complete." Makarov went back to drinking from his mug as they all frowned.

Noticing their looks, Makarov sighed, "What is it, brats?" Not a second later Elfman spoke up, "What do you mean? We've been attacked, it's unmanly! Let's go over there and beat them like men!" Shaking his head, Makarov took a long drink as he chuckled. "Why should we worry about them attacking an empty guild in the middle of the night?" Erza perked a brow, "No one was in the guild?" Makarov shook his head again as Erza and Lucy let out a breath of relief that no one was hurt. "If they only have the courage to attack an empty guild, why should we pay any attention to them? Let them go if that's what they are capable of. We'll be staying down here until the top level is repaired." Waving his hand off, he jumped down and started walking away.

Mirajane sighed a little as she leaned forward to address the group. "You know he feels the same way…but the Council has forbid any violent conflicts between guilds. We'd get in trouble if we attacked them…so that's basically it." Gray shook his head a little, "The Master is just scared to-" This earned him a rather hard hit upside the back of his head, courtesy of Erza who looked rather annoyed. "It's true, we simply have to deal with it for now….there's nothing we can do since they didn't attack any of our members." With that, she walked off with a sour expression on her face, not even bothering to think of her strawberry cake.

**_Later, Lucy's apartment_**

Lucy sat there in her living room, tick marks slowly spreading across her face as she tried to calmly sip on her drink. It was a futile effort as not even three seconds later she screamed, "WHY ARE ALL OF YOU HERE?!" She looked at Elfman, Erza, and Gray who were sitting around her home like they lived here. Elfman grinned as he spoke up, "Nii-san said that it's safer if we're all together because we aren't sure what Phantom Lord will pull, it's unmanly to think they'd attack us!"

A mostly stripped Gray looked up from his key-lime pie as he spoke with a full mouth, "Yeuh, ghutta beh shafee." Erza hit him in the back of his head, making Gray swallow by accident as he started choking as the rest watched, no pity coming from them as Gray slowly recovered. "Speak when you don't have a full mouth." Erza glared at the shivering ice-make mage who nodded, "I meant to say, 'Yeah, we gotta be safe!'" Satisfied a little, the scarlet haired mage looked back to Lucy. "We're sorry for any trouble, it's just better like this."

Nodding slowly, Lucy suddenly looked to Elfman, "Wait, isn't your sister alone then? What if they attack her?" The three of them laughed a little as Lucy looked confused. Elfman finally spoke again, "They are true men if they attack my sister! Dead men, but men none the less!" Still confused, Gray piped up, "Mirajane is an S-class mage….she's a real demon. Phantom Lord wouldn't be stupid enough to attack her…." He shivered a bit as he went back to eating. Slowly nodding again, Lucy sighed a bit as she got prepared for bed. "Right…well I'm going to bed. Sleep wherever." Everyone waved at her as she left the room, each of them making their own preparations.

**_Next day, Phantom Lord_**

Loud yelling and cheering could be heard outside the guild hall of Fiore's number one guild, Phantom Lord. Looking inside the castle-like structure, one would see a large celebration as members clashed mugs together. "Those fairy idiots didn't know what hit them, leave it to Gajeel to get it done!" One member yelled as someone across the guild agreed, "Yeah! They wouldn't dare attack us now that they know we're serious!" This brought another round of cheers as everyone slowly quieted down. A drunk member of the guild was walking over to a man in the corner.

"Yo, Gajeel! Good job man with kicking their asses like that, they know that we-." A iron fist smashed into his face, sending him crashing into the nearby tables. "What did I tell you maggots about talking to me when I'm eating?" The man turned around, his entire body looked like it was pierced, a piece of iron hanging out of his mouth as he slowly started chewing. A voice from the second floor caught his attention, "Yes…good job Gajeel. You make me proud to know I have some competent mages here." Gajeel grinned a bit, "Gihehe, I left them another present Master Jose, they will enjoy it." The figure of Master Jose, with only his mouth visible as the rest was shadowed by the rafters grinned. "Let's hope it was enough."

**_Magnolia Park_**

A large crowd gathered around the tree as the members of Fairy Tail pushed to the front. Covering their mouths with their hands, each of them didn't speak. There, stapled to the tree, was Jet, Droy, and Levy, each of them terribly beaten and barely looked alive. Everything turned quiet as a small man walked forward, a staff in his hand as he looked upon his children upon the tree. Slowly lowering his hand, his grip tightened on the wood so hard it shattered the staff. "This is war." As he raised his head, veins could be seen threatening to pop on the surface of his face, magic radiating from his body as shouts rang out to agree. However, none of them noticed four shadows at the top branches of the tree, looking down at the scene with scowls on their faces.

**_Reaper's Scythe, earlier_**

Master Lycus looked upon his desk, frowning a bit as he read the report that was sent to him, a tick park appearing on the top of his head. The paper turned to ashes as he looked to his door, contemplating on his next choice. The letter itself was enough to annoy him, yet the fact that the man almost begged for his assistance made it even worse. Slowly sighing, he relaxed and reigned in the magic that threatened to burst from his body. Lycas couldn't let his old attachments get close to him at a time like this, he had his own guild now and that required his attention. Glancing at the large chest of money that was sent with the letter, he knew that this would help move their guild along quite a bit.

Biting back a curse, he brought out an orb, setting it on his desk as he channeled a bit of magic into it. "Dragons! Get up here, now!" His voice was amplified through the guild as the cheering from downstairs turned quiet. Footsteps could be heard as four figures opened the door, each of them sporting a dead serious expression. They weren't usually called by their alias, whenever they were it was a serious matter to the old man before them. Remaining standing in front of his desk in a line, all four of the Elemental Dragons looked upon their master.

Lycas slowly spoke as he motioned to the chest, "It seems we have a….job. It's an assistance mission that requires your attention." Jess motioned to speak as Lycas allowed her. "If it's simply one where we observe unless needed…why are you so angry, Master?" The question was one the other three wanted to ask but did not wish to do, mainly Natsu because his thoughts were still somewhat distracted by a certain scarlet-haired mage. The old man looped his fingers together as his voice was quiet. "Phantom Lord has requested our assistance." The four Mages growled a bit as the tension in the room multiplied by several amounts.

"Those arrogant assholes? Hell no, turn down the request!" Natsu replied in a rather heated tone, it was a well-known fact that none of them liked the supposed 'Legal' guild at all. The others nodded a bit until Lycas shook his head. "I want to…yet they have some…'item's' I require for a large task that was coming up. It would take me months to get the ingredients they currently have ready and would spare us a lot of trouble." Atlas growled a bit as Natsu was silent, the thought of a fight not really close to his mind for once. Jess and Rose remained indifferent, both of them much better at hiding their emotions then the other two.

Rose finally broke the tense silence as she spoke, "What is the request?" Lycas bit his lip, this was the moment he had to bury his past connections and feelings. "They want us to assist them in wiping out 'Fairy Tail'." Those simple words caused all of their eyes to widen. A flaming fist connected with his desk, shattering it as Lycas didn't blink or show any real reaction. "WHAT? They want us to get involved in their war?! I want to fight Titania again, but not for someone else! Let those arrogant asses fight for themselves, they're confident in their own abilities, right?" Atlas spoke as well, "He's right, what changed so suddenly? They have their 'Element Four' and Gajeel Redfox, the ones they pride themselves on. What has changed, Master?"

The confused looks of his four mages made him sigh a bit. "They are being cautious….it is well-known that Fairy Tail has many powerful mages, some that could match you four. When you all beat their 'Element Four' and Redfox two years ago, they haven't started any conflict with us. You are not to get involved in the conflict unless the deal is broken or Fairy Tail forces you to. Understood?" Lycas was drawing blood from his bitten lip at this point, his eyes shadowed. The four Dragons looked at their master, frowning as one by one, they all nodded.

Master Lycas breathed slowly as he looked up to them, "I know you all just fought Deloria and are a bit tired, but leave immediately. I have a feeling this conflict will settle itself at Magnolia, go there and wait." All of them nodded as they left, Natsu looking back at the old man, "If they screw us over….there won't be a Phantom Lord anymore. We won't be used." To confirm the statement, the four of them let their magic flare, shaking the building as Lycas grinned for the first time this entire talk. "Remember our code." Walking down the stairs, the four Dragons grinned viciously as they spoke loud enough for their master to hear. "Never trust, never give, never love. Take everything for yourself, burn what remains." With those parting words, the four dragon-slayers left the guild after packing hooded cloaks and small amounts of food and water.

**_Back to the Present, Natsu's group_**

"Why did we agree to this? I can't believe that even Redfox would do this to those three in public….he's a heartless bastard." Jess muttered a little under her breath, watching the Magnolia citizens carry the injured mages to the guild while Fairy Tail marched off to their 'war'. Atlas, sitting against the main trunk of the tree with Rose in his lap slowly shook his head. "You know the Master had been planning this for years….he needs what Jose has. If Jose gets wind of us not agreeing, he'll destroy the needed materials." The usually talkative fire dragon-slayer watched Erza Scarlet walk away with the rest of her guild. His chest hurt a little, frowning as she left his view from on top of the tree. Turning his attention to the other three who looked at him with worried expressions, he waved them off. "Remember though…if he tries to stab us in the back, and it's very likely he will, he's mine. Deal with the rest of them."

Nodding, Rose piped in as she got more comfortable in Atlas's lap, no longer terribly embarrassed about the two of them being seen together. "Though….shouldn't we go and follow them? We can't do our job unless we're there when they fight." Atlas tightened his grip around her stomach as he nodded. "She's right…we need to get to Phantom Lord first. He won't do anything stupid with you around Natsu, you did take out the Saint ranked ahead of him little over a year ago." Natsu grinned a little bit at the memory, but he quickly let the grin fall off as he stood straight. The rest followed his example, even a groan from a disappointed Rose didn't stop them. "Let's go….we're arriving ten minutes before Fairy Tail." Nodding to one another, they all vanished in their own elements, Natsu in a flash of fire, Jess with the wind, Rose in water vapor, and Atlas in crumpling earth in the breeze.

**_Jose's Office, prior to Fairy Tail attack_**

Drinking a cup of sake, Jose grinned as four presences filled the room he sat in. A large and fat man appeared, frowning as he stood protectively in front of his master. A earth-covered fist smashed into him from behind as he fell to the ground. Soon after, a blade of water touched the base of Aria's neck, keeping him in place. Dropping from the rafters, Natsu landed on Jose's desk, eyes narrowed from behind his shadowed face, the only thing visible was his glowing eyes.

Jose clapped his hands together a bit, "Welcome, welcome. I see my request got through, and oh my, they sent the famous, 'Elemental Dragons'. We are immensely honored." His words were sarcastic, the sake in his cup starting to bubble and evaporate as Natsu growled. "Enough with the damn flattering…we're not fighting this war for you. We're observes unless needed, Jose." Master Jose frowned at the tone. "Remember, boy. I have what your master needs, so show me respect that I deserve, I am a Saint."

Wind danced in the room as his cup was split into five pieces, Jess standing on the rafters as she glared down at Master Jose. Atlas spoke up from his position of sitting on top of Aria's still figure, "Remember yourself, 'Master Jose', that your current rank is due to Natsu. We will do our part…but keep your word. If you try to betray us…..you will no longer be around to keep that title." Rose withdrew her blade of water as she stood straighter and faced Jose. "We are not dogs for you to call…remember what happened the last time you tried that when you sent your guild after us." Leaning forward, Natsu gave a feral grin, "Just do your part…we'll do ours. Oh and…Fairy Tail is here." As if on queue, surprised shouts and explosions came from downstairs as the four 'Elemental Dragons' jumped back into the rafters, moving throughout the building.

Master Jose growled a bit, 'Those brats….i'll show you to threaten me…a few million jewels is worth watching you all on the ground begging for mercy…especially your master.' Jose felt the large magical spike, smiling a bit as Aria disappeared into the wind for his part of the plan.

**_Minutes ago, Phantom Lord first floor_**

"Gahaha! If I took that job I could have got three times the amount!" A voice called out from a man walking to the door, "Yeah yeah, I'll be back later." Just as he touched the door, a massive fist came through, sending him crashing through several tables as he entered the guild. Nearby members were tossed back by ice, cards, and a reptilian fist. "W-what the hell? We're being attacked? Who the hell is stupid enough to do that?!" A panicked member shouted as he watched the dust slowly clear from the small explosion.

After the dust settled, a small man stood in front of a large crowd of mages, each of them sporting a serious aura and glaring eyes. Raising his voice, the small man shouted, "We're Fairy Tail." A chill went down every Phantom Lord members spine, "W-what…the peaceful guild that never fights back is here?! Bullshit, kill them!" The shouts from Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail collided as the fighting began, Fairy Tail tossing around any Phantom Lord members they could find as Makarov was charged by several members. Using his Titan magic, he grew and slammed his hand down on the surprised members, "M-monster!" Makarov's booming voice echoed in the hall as he spoke, "You brought this monster upon yourself for hurting his children!"

Shrinking back down, he glanced at Erza who was fighting several Phantom Lord mages. "Erza! I leave this to you, I'm going after Jose!" Erza nodded as she felt a chill down her back, looking up in the rafters to see four cloaked figures, all of them staring down at the battle, faces shadowed. In particular she focused on one at the front, yet an attacking mage drew her attention. As she looked back the figures were gone, cursing herself as she went back to fighting.

A figure looked down at the fighting, his feet on the bottom of a large rafter as he grinned at the fighting. "So they came…Master Jose was right, Gihehe. Though Laxus, Mystogun, Gildarts, and Mirajane aren't here….they're underestimating us." An all too-familiar voice came from above Gajeel as the man froze, sweat rolling down his neck. "Gajeel…still arrogant I see. Should I have Atlas fix that for you?" Gajeel looked to the top of the rafter, a woman's figure looking down at him. He recognized that voice as he tried to weakly smile, "J-jess….i'm honored….I didn't think you guys would accept." A voice right next to him made him look at the massive figure.

"We didn't….the master did. If it was our choice, we'd be helping Fairy Tail." Atlas spoke a bit in a bored tone, his eyes fixed to the fighting as he watched Phantom Lord slowly lose ground. "You should go help….your guild is losing badly. We don't wish to intervene, yet if we do…." He left it in the air as Gajeel gulped and nodded, flying down to join the fighting. It wasn't long before he and a extremely muscular figure were fighting. "He's still scared of you two, huh?" Rose spoke up a bit as she sat on the rafters, looking down at Atlas who hung upside down from where Gajeel was. "He better be…he's a pain in the ass with that mouth of his."

The only man of the four who didn't speak was watching Erza, eyes transfixed on her figure as it moved around rather gracefully. Glancing at a spell coming at her from behind, he frowned, she wasn't going to notice it. Pulling his finger up into a gun-like position, a fire-bullet shot down and cancelled the offensive spell. It didn't go unnoticed by Erza as she felt the magic behind her, but before she could investigate a pain filled yell filled the air.

Falling from the rafters and crashing into the floor was a barely breathing Makarov, drawing frowns from the four Elemental Dragons. They liked the old man, his aura somewhat reminded them of their own master, so him being hurt caused each of them to growl lowly.

**_Fairy Tail P.O.V._**

The yell of pain and a body falling from the rafters caused all of them to look at the small figure that was lying on the floor. Erza spoke first as she realized who it was, "Master?!" Her eyes were wide in disbelief as she ran to her master, holding him gently. What shocked her even more was that she couldn't feel any magic coming from him, which should have been impossible. "N-no…what happened master?!" No response was given as a reinvigorated Phantom Lord charged back, starting to beat back Fairy Tail. Biting her lip, she shouted out to everyone, "Retreat! Fall back to the Guild!"

Fighting back defensively, Fairy Tail soon left. As they ran away, they could hear the shouts of victory from behind him at Phantom Lord. It seemed to take too long as they arrived back at their own town, an air of disappointment about them. Bisca and Alzak took the master to the woods to get healed by Porlyusica while the rest tried to lick their wounds. Several members were grumbling about their decision to retreat, but none questioned the decision because they had all seen how Master Makarov looked when they got back, he barely seemed alive at that point.

Mirajane was quietly talking to Erza at the bar as Elfman seemed to be looking for someone. Mirajane noticed this and spoke up, "Elfman…what are you looking for?" Said man scratched the side of his head and looked to his sister, "Gray…he's been missing since we got back." Erza's and Mira's eyes widened a bit as Erza stood, yet was stopped by Mira who shook her head. "Don't…he'll be fine. He isn't stupid enough to be captured so let's leave him be."

It wasn't long however before the doors crashed open, revealing a battered Gray and frowning Lucy. Questioning where they were, Gray went on to say how he saw Lucy falling from a tower, and in turn Lucy explaining how she was captured and the reason behind this entire war. As the guild listened, it was quiet after the explanation as Lucy looked at everyone. "I-I'm sorry for bringing this trouble onto you guys…maybe if…maybe if I wasn't here you could have avoided this." Gray frowned as he looked to her, setting a hand on his shoulder, no one even noticing he didn't have his pants on. "Lucy, don't worry. We're family, we take care of each other. If they want to take one of us, they have to deal with everyone else." Everyone nodded as they grinned a bit.

Lucy looked on with tears in her eyes, doing her best not to cry yet she lost the battle as she cried openly at the situation. Everyone was hurt and in danger because of her, yet they still wanted to protect her even after knowing her story. Wiping her eyes, a shout from outside brought all of them back to reality. Elfman was panting as he looked at everyone, "E-everyone! Look outside!" Everyone ran outside, their mouths dropping open in shock as they looked at a moving guild coming towards them. "It….it moves?" Macao muttered under his breath, eyes wide as he tried to comprehend this.

A loud voice brought all of them to look at the cannon at the front of the guild. "**Greetings, Fairy Tail worms! Hand over Lucy Heartphilia and we will spare your worthless lives, failure to do so** **will bring us to using Jupiter and destroying your pitiful guild**." Stepping at the front of the crowd, Gray yelled back as the ground around him froze. "Like hell! She's our nakama and you aren't touching her!" A moment of silence followed before the voice of Jose came back. "**Very well. This was your choice!**" The cannon started charging as Erza ran to the front of the group, smoke appearing around her, "**Herculean Armor!" **Bringing up arms in an 'X' like formation, the cannon fired as a loud explosion rocked the entire area.

The next thing anyone knew, a flying body crashed into the already ruined guild, the battered form of Erza laying there, her armor in pieces. "**Oh…..she blocked it? Impressive…yet all for naught. In fifteen minutes, Jupiter will fire again and finish all of you off!" **Mirajane, who was currently supporting Erza, looked on with wide eyes. "Only fifteen minutes…..that's not enough time." A quivering voice spoke out from behind her, "T-this…is all my fault. If I give myself up….this will all stop." Mira looked to Lucy, tears streaming down the Celestiel Spirit Mage's face. She never got the chance to take the first step as Cana hit her in the back of her neck, gently knocking her out. "Idiot….like hell that would work. Reedus!" The fat mage appeared next to her, his notepad out with a marker. "Take her to the safe-house, hurry!" Reedus nodded, "Ohm!" Drawing on his book, a chariot appeared from the drawing as Reedus grabbed Lucy, travelling deep into the town.

Mira nodded her thanks to Cana as she slowly pulled Erza into the guild to let her rest. Bisca looked on in shock as shadows started descending from the guild, shouting to everyone. "Shades! It's Jose's magic, don't let them touch you or you'll lose all your magic!" The two sides clashed as Gray and Elfman stood next to Mirajane, waiting for advice. Mira glared at the Phantom Lord guild. "Gray….destroy the cannon. Elfman, we're dealing with the rest of the guild." They nodded as Gray froze the ocean to the front of the guild, making a set of stairs to the top portion. Elfman and Mirajane kept climbing as Gray jumped down the barrel.

**_Elemental Dragons P.O.V._**

Natsu was trying his best not to laugh, along with the rest of his group. It was a losing battle as each of them couldn't help it anymore, a very pissed off Phantom Jose watching the four roll around laughing. "She-she kicked you in the balls and you just, you just let her escape?" Atlas spoke between breathes, a tick mark appearing on Jose's face. Natsu finally spoke up after controlling his laughter a bit, nervous Phantom Lord members on either side of the group. "So…you unchained her, like an idiot, got close enough for her to reach…and THEN you got turned into a woman for a few minutes?"

"Enough, you brats should pay attention!" Jose roared out, he was already in a bad mood that not a few moments ago his Jupiter cannon was destroyed along with one of his Element Four, but these brats kept bringing up the Celestial Mage's escape. After another minute, the four of them calmed down and stood up, grinning a little. "Remember you arrogant prick, we're observers unless needed otherwise. You're so great and powerful, right? Do this yourself." Rose taunted a little bit as she turned around and left, Atlas following after her.

Jess clicked her tongue and motioned to the two as she looked at Natsu. Natsu shivered a bit, "What they do isn't my business….just remember you were the one who wanted them together." Jess shrugged as they turned around and started walking away, ignoring Master Jose as tick marks kept spreading across his forehead. "I'm going to kill them…." Jose grit his teeth together as he looked behind him from a sudden noise. There was Gajeel, holding a knocked out blonde mage, Lucy. Grinning a bit as he slowly calmed down, Jose chuckled, "I'm glad I still have a competent mage here…when you can, prepare our 'surprise' for the guests and those dragon brats.

Gajeel nodded a bit, biting his lip as he left the room, not really noticing the air shimmering a bit on the opposite wall, a frowning air dragon-slayer disappearing and appearing next to Natsu in a separate room. "He has a surprise planned for us….it seems this was just a trick after all. Should we do something?" Natsu shook his head, leaning back into a chair he found as he looked into a projection lacryma, the battles in the building being watched by him and Jess. "Let him continue to think we're ignorant to it…Atlas and Rose are on their way to the storage rooms to find the materials. After they do, let's wait for his trap to spring before we act…it'll be more fun. Don't you think so Jess?" Said woman smirked a bit as she sat down next to Natsu, looking at the projection. "A shame though…you seem sad now that Erza Scarlet is going after Jose….aren't you worried he'll kill her?"

Perking a brow at Jess, he sighed. It was useless to hide things from her. "A little…but he'll likely go around gloating about his greatness. By then we'll have dealt with his little trap, found the materials, and be ready to leave. The only issue is Gajeel….I don't know if they have anyone in Fairy Tail that can beat him here." Jess and Natsu frowned as the fire dragon-slayer slowly grinned. "Hey Jess….want to have some fun?" Said woman grinned a bit as she disappeared into the air. "Ah…now I feel bad for the metal-head. Jess is scarier than Master when she wants to be." Placing his hands behind his head, he kicked his feet up as he continued to watch the fighting. "Now…where is my little Titania…."


	8. Confrontations on all Fronts!

**_Last Time_**

_Perking a brow at Jess, he sighed. It was useless to hide things from her. "A little…but he'll likely go around gloating about his greatness. By then we'll have dealt with his little trap, found the materials, and be ready to leave. The only issue is Gajeel….I don't know if they have anyone in Fairy Tail that can beat him here." Jess and Natsu frowned as the fire dragon-slayer slowly grinned. "Hey Jess….want to have some fun?" Said woman grinned a bit as she disappeared into the air. "Ah…now I feel bad for the metal-head. Jess is scarier than Master when she wants to be." Placing his hands behind his head, he kicked his feet up as he continued to watch the fighting. "Now…where is my little Titania…."_

**_Phantom Lord Control Room_**

"My guild….slowly being beaten by these worthless brats from Fairy Tail….now I might actually have to rely on those insignificant Dragon-Slayers…." Jose was grumbling as he watched all the fighting through his lacryma, his frown deepening with each one of his 'Element Four' being defeated until none were left. The only ones from Phantom Lord who could really fight anymore was Gajeel who was busying himself with torturing Lucy Heartphillia and himself. Tightening his grip on his armrest, he cracked the wood from the pressure he added to it before relaxing, trying to take a calming breathe. "It's fine….all my troubles will be over with by the end of the day…isn't that right, you seven?"

Looking off to the right, seven shadows hugged the dark corner of the room, each of them sporting different emblems on their cloaks. The one at the front didn't really look over to Jose as he spoke, his voice echoing through the entire room. "Do not worry, Master Jose…we will deal with the 'Elemental Dragons' and the rest of Fairy Tail…simply give us the order. Our master has leant us to you for being good….partners in our business." Jose nodded a bit, a cruel grin plastering itself on his face as he stood up. Something off to one of his side-lacryma caught his eye as he narrowed his eyes. "….well well, it seems you get to work right away. The water and earth brats broke into my personal study. Go and deal with them, immediately, but do try and keep the damage to my already broken guild to a minimum."

The seven cloaked figures nodded at the same time, each of them instantly vanishing and appearing in the hallway, walking down the corridors. The one at the front of the group had a red wolf head, obviously the leader from the way he carried himself and the others walked behind him. Jose watched them leave and appear in one of the lacryma, chuckling as he watched the other projection lacryma and noting the fighting. "Foolish…with them here, all of you are as good as dead. This hurt my pocket a bit…but it is worth it in the end to get rid of so many pests."

Jose leaned back into his chair to get ready to enjoy the show, until he felt a strong magical presence starting to come closer to the room. Perking a brow, he noted it was the Titania's magical power that was drawing near him. Smirking to himself, he stood up and moved to the center of the room at a slow, relaxed pace. "Well well…it seems I will be able to enjoy myself after all…hopefully she entertains me more than the others." With that, he stood waiting.

**_Atlas P.O.V._**

A shiver went down my back as I turned around sharply, startling Rose as I glared around the room. Something wasn't right here, seven strong magical presences just appeared in the guild and they were unfamiliar, so they weren't Phantom Lord, yet their aura is too dark for Fairy Tail. "Rose….we're going to have company soon…." I shot a look down at her as she closed her eyes and concentrated, frowning at what she felt. "You're right….but who are they? Did Jose really get another group involved in all this?" I simply sighed a bit as I felt two presences break off from the group of seven and start to make their way here. "I don't know, but two of them are coming here. Take the supplies and attached the teleportation lacryma to them. Since none of the others are here we can't bring them with us…so we'll fight."

Rose nodded as I took up a protective stance between her and the door, waiting for the two presences I felt earlier draw closer. Rose spoke up from behind me as I turned my head away to look at her, "Done…now let's deal with this-" she looked up at me…no, behind me! "My my…you're quite the strong looking man…" the female voice cooed from behind me as I swung my fist to backhand whoever it was. I struck air as the person appeared behind me and stared at Rose. Just as I was about to punch her I was punched through a wall as something massive slammed into me from the side. "Gah!"

"Atlas!" Rose called out as she drew the water around her, only to watch as it dispersed, much to her shock as the cloaked woman kicked her right into me as I was crawling out, forcing me to catch her. Gritting my teeth, I stood her up next to me, noticing the second figure there now, and oh hell, he was massive. "The hell….who are you two?!" The woman simply shrugged as the massive figure didn't even budge, yet the magic coming off him made me and Rose shiver. "That's a secret~. Beat us and we might say, cutie~" Rose growled next to me and took a step forward until I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's impossible to hear an answer if you're buried." The cloaked woman tilted her head as I slammed my hands on the ground. "**Earth-Dragon's Tremor!" **I dug my fingers into the ground as the rock covered my hands, flipping them up as the entire room started shaking with the roof collapsing. I eyed the massive man as he slowly raised a hand, the tremor keeping me from hearing the words he spoke as the rocks suddenly stopped falling. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as Rose reacted faster than me. "**Water-Dragon's Roar!" **She shot a torrent of water at them, yet this time the woman raised her hands. **"Dancing Typhoon!" **

The water shot right back at Jess who jumped to the side, her eyes widening in surprise this time. "Well…this is awkard." Rose muttered a bit and I had to agree, these two apparently could use the same elements as us. Normally this would be a good thing as we could eat their attacks for more power, yet so far they only countered the attacks we made, thus it being our own magic we can't eat it. Rose and I stood side to side as the two figures waited patiently for us, causing me to growl a little bit. 'Alright…they have only acted to our attacks so far….counter users maybe? The man obviously has some control of the earth….or maybe gravity, to stop the rocks. The woman and Rose feel about equal on magical power…so how about this?'

Smirking a bit, the earth slowly rose up to my neck as it fell, revealing my body hardened into brown scale-like skin. "Oh, interesting~ Right, Dozer?" The woman spoke a bit, eyeing me as I felt that the name for the man was rather fitting from his size, being around seven feet. A deep, grumbling voice echoed in the room, making me and Rose glance around for a moment to look for it until we both realized that it was coming from the man. "I don't care….let's just finish this and go back to the Captain. I want to fight Salamander, not these weaklings." A tick mark appeared on Rose's head as I frowned a bit, 'Okay….quiet but a very big asshole….going to have to fix that.'

"Rose…" She glanced at me from the side of her vision, now taking her eyes off the two in front of me. "Switch." Both of us suddenly rushed, and the moment I was within ten feet of the large man and Rose with the same of the woman, we both danced past each other and went after the opposite mages. The large man raised a hand as Rose suddenly slammed into the ceiling, the floor having risen to crush her. "**Outcropping….", **the word the man muttered as I knew Rose could take that much. Raising my fist I brought it down to the woman, **"Earth-Dragon's Rumbling Quake!" **The earth on my fist started vibrating as it shook my entire fist, the woman raising her hands lazily. "**Water Mirror…." **

In all honesty, I know longer have to wonder how it felt to get hit by my own attack, yet at a very painful price. My fist rebounded and slammed into my gut, forcing me to fall back and crash into the pillar of stone that pinned Rose to the ceiling. "Alright….that hurt." Something soft fell on my lap as I noticed a very, very pissed off Rose. "Rose….switch to your Drive. These two are going to require us being serious." Rose simply mumbled a few choice curse words as she stood next to me. 'They don't attack us…this is pissing me off. Do they think they are that much stronger?' A tick mark appeared on my head as bits of earth and water raised around me and Rose. **"Nebula/Core Drive!" **

Magic erupted from me and Rose as the other two suddenly got in a defensive stance. "Oh, it seems you have a few hidden tricks. Good, we were about to get bored~" The woman spoke in a sweet tone as for the first time they charged us, something me and Rose met with just as much intensity. 'If these two are this much trouble…there's five more of them. Be safe, you two!'

**_General P.O.V. (Lucy's room with Gajeel)_**

Gajeel was bouncing his knee nervously as he picked up another kunai, lazily flicking it at a spot next to Lucy's head. It was obvious his mind was not exactly focused at the moment on the task of guarding this girl in front of him, no, he was more worried about the plan his master had been going on about for some time. He felt it was too much of a risk, putting Phantom Lord in the middle of such a large battle. 'What is that old man thinking…bringing THEM here? It was bad enough with the Reaper's Scythe members…but to think he would be so desperate as to spend half the coffers of Phantom Lord on a dark guild.' Picking up another kunai, he tossed it, yet this time it was on target right for Lucy's head.

A second before it got there, the kunai stopped in the middle of the air as Jess slowly materialized, holding the weapon in her hand as she smiled sweetly at Gajeel. Lucy was just there, chained against the wall with a shocked expression on her face. Not a few seconds ago she thought that she was actually going to die, only for a random woman wearing a cloak to save her. "That was mean, Gajeel-kun~. What if she got hurt?" Jess asked in a sickly sweet tone as she looked to the Iron-Dragon slayer who was gaping at her with wide eyes.

"Ah, J-Jess-san! What are you doing here, I thought you'd be fighting the Fairy Tail members, it's the reason you're here, yes?" Gajeel asked nervously, slowly getting out of the chair he was sitting in and standing a couple feet in front of Jess. The Air-Dragon Slayer licked her lips as she walked closer, slowly circling Gajeel, tracing the Kunai across his scars. "Don't act so innocent, we know you have a trap for us~. You violated the contract….so now we are retaliating. Be glad it's me and not Natsu-san." Dropping the weapon, Jess set her hands on the still figure of Gajeel's shoulders. "So…who is it? Who does he think can get rid of us?"

Gajeel bit his tongue for a moment as he felt the nails of Jess dig into his shoulders, Lucy staring in awe at the once ruthless and cruel Iron-Dragon slayer acting like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "We are from Dawn's Roar, if you are so curious." A man spoke from the side, suddenly appearing as Jess jumped back, startled. "You scared her, Gald." Jess tilted her head up to look at the second figure sitting atop one of the machines right next to the wall Lucy was chained to. "Ah, my apologies~" The first man, Gald, bowed down in a rather showy manner to Jess. Before he could come up though, Jess appeared in front of him, "**Air-Dragon's Compression Fist!" **

Connecting with the top of Gald's head, the man crashed into the floor, the entire area around them doing the same from the pressure of the air around the attack. "**Air-Dragon's Roar!" **A torrent of wind went after the second cloaked figure, obliterating the wall behind him, yet he stood still as if nothing had happened. Gald raised himself out of the ground like nothing happened, though his cloak was in tatters, a smile on his face. "Nice attack, young miss. I see why we were called here…me and Tora will be keeping you company though until your death."

Tora appeared behind Jess, several feet away as Gald glanced to Gajeel. "Gajeel-kun, take the hostage and leave. We'll deal with her." Gajeel nodded a bit as he ripped the chains from the wall, tossing Lucy on his shoulder as he jumped through the freshly made hole in the wall. Jess raised herself into a defensive nature as she looked between the two. 'Tch…Dawn's Roar, they're a Dark Guild that has often clashed with the Balam Alliance and came out even. If they're here…this means they are part of the 'Thundering Seven'. This is bad…by choice, three of them went for Natsu, two for Atlas and Rose, and now I have two of them myself….' Jess growled a bit as Tora and Gald started circling her.

Gald smiled a bit more, "Now now, no need to be so hostile. You can have all the time to be angry when you are with your three comrades and Fairy Tail, seven feet in the ground." Tora jumped forward, clapping his hands together as a spear appeared in his hands, shadows swirling around the edge. "**Shadow Glaive!" **Swinging it down, an arc of shadows cut a path towards Jess who barely dodged, Gald setting his hands on her back, whispering, "**Smoke Wrap…." **Smoke appeared around her body, acting like chains as it slowly started to envelope her as Gald kept his hands on her back. Seconds later, Jess was covered in the black smoke as Gald and Tora started walking away. "Well…that was disappointing. Hopefully the famous Salamander can do-"

A hand set itself on Tora's shoulder before he could finish speaking, causing him to turn around just as he suddenly twisted in the air, finding the ground above him. Glad was in a similar state, both of them looking at a grinning Jess. "**Air Dragon's Turbulence…" **They both started spinning as wind swirled around Jess's hands, causing them to rotate faster and crash backwards into the wall. Gald emerged not a second later, smoke dancing around his body. "Good! This might be worth it! **Smoke Gauntlet!" **A tunnel of smoke appeared around Jess and Gald as bits smoke in the shapes of fists came raining down on Jess who raised her hands. "**Air-Dragon's Disturbance…" **

The smoke dispersed as it got within five feet of Jess, causing Gald to frown as the floor cracked under Jess. Jerking her head to the side, a pillar of shadow appeared from the crack as Tora rose from the ground, charging Jess. "**Shadow Tower!" **Feeling the magic, Jess's eyes widened as she suddenly jumped to Tora, invading his personal space as the area behind her was enveloped in crushing shadow. Setting a hand on Tora's chest, Jess grinned. "**Air-Dragon's Turbulence!" **Tora once again spun around and slammed into Gald who caught him, stopping a few feet after the force caused him to skid. "Girl is dangerous…" Tora muttered a bit as he got himself ready.

Both of the members of the Thundering Seven got ready as the smoke and shadows dispersed, showing a glowing Jess. "I don't have time to waste on you two…I need to go deal with Gajeel and get the girl. **Swirling Drive!" **The air around Jess suddenly got very heavy, wind whipping around her like blades as she darted forward. Tora and Gald raised a fist and shot them forward, side by side. "**Dark Prison's Suffocation!" **Their magic combined into a Unison Raid as dark swirls of smoke clashed with the whipping winds, wrapping around Jess's body as needles from the shadow and smoke started raining down on Jess.

Jess concentrated, bringing most of her attention to the area around her, increasing the pressure to crack apart the attack as she bit her lip. The smoke kept getting thicker and the shadows didn't help because she was essentially blind at this point due to how dark it was. 'A distraction…this isn't meant to do any heavy damage, it's to buy time…something I can't let them have.' "**Air-Dragon's Roar!" **She blasted the smoke and shadows away, leaving her in an empty room besides herself. "Shit, where did they go…?" A chill went down her spine as she jumped back, a massive sword of shadows piercing the ground from above as smoke formed giant walls around her. Both Tora and Gald appeared across from her in the twenty by twenty free area. "Don't even think of clearing this out…I put a bunch of secondary trap seals around the area. Until you defeat us or I decide to dispel it, you're stuck in here with us." Gald smirked as Tora raised his hands to get ready for his next attack.

Crouching down, the glow around Jess died as the winds soon followed suit. 'This is going to be annoying…I'm on a time-crunch because I'm not sure how well the others are doing.' A sudden explosion rocked the entire guild as the ground threatened to give way. '…well, Natsu seems to have found something to keep him entertained.' She sweat-dropped a bit as Gald and Tora exchanged nervous looks.

**_Natsu's Battle_**

Natsu kicked the man in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall as another appeared behind him, bringing down a sword to try and decapitate the Fire-Dragon Slayer. Feeling the presence behind him, Natsu brought his hand back, catching the wrist of the man and sending him crashing into his ally with a thundering punch. Clapping his hands together, Natsu had a stupid smile plastered onto his face, "You know….standing there and watching me beat the shit out of your team isn't a nice thing to do." He turned his attention to the still cloaked man from Dawn's Roar who hadn't even made a move this entire scuffle.

"I won't interfere until they request it. Besides…fighting my subordinate's battles does not suit me." The man responded in a normal tone, acting as if he was talking about the weather or something else relatively unimportant. This caused Natsu to shrug as both of them men appeared from the wall, the one on the left whom Natsu learned was Drake, an 'Ex-quip' mage. The other man, on the right, was a Fire mage, much to Natsu's delight, called Ember. "**Scorched Tower!" **A pillar of flame enveloped Natsu, the fire-dragon slayer eating the attack and patting his stomach not a few seconds later. "Seriously…this is like the seventh time you've done that. You aren't too smart…putting a fire mage against me."

Drake appeared above Natsu, two spears in his hands as he drove them down to Natsu who side-stepped out of the way, delivering a spin kick to the man's head and causing him to dodge. Drake and Ember stood side by side as Ember suddenly grabbed both of Drake's spears. Confused and slightly interested, Natsu watched the weapons turn red-hot from the channeled fire magic. "Smart…trying to compliment one another in the best way possible with your magic." Natsu observed a little as the two man charged him again. Drake jumped straight to Natsu, slashing the spears around in a circle as he started picking up speed, turning himself into a human tornado of slashes. Natsu got a nice cut on his cheek from the first attack, yet dodged all the others as Ember slammed a foot into Natsu's back, causing the Dragon Slayer to go towards the blades.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar!" **Drake stopped immediately and jumped to the side, avoiding the flames that crashed through the wall behind him. Natsu felt a hand on his back, a grinning Ember standing there. "**Exploding Fist…." **Natsu's eyes widened as Ember jumped away, the place where Natsu stood enveloped by a rune and exploding, sending bits of rock and dust everywhere. Ember was slowly losing his grin as he felt the rising magic, Drake still on the other side of the explosion. "**Re-quip…Piercing Armor." **Drake's entire body was covered in a pure silver colored set of steel plates, each section dangerously sharp with spikes on the edges. What was more disturbing though was the insane amount of javelins on his back in a large quiver. Pulling out three at once, he sent them into the smoke to try and add onto the explosions damage.

"**Raining Steel!" **The javelins started multiplying until twenty-five of them flew towards the shadowed figure of Natsu. He felt each spear hit something solid, causing him to frown at the lack of response from his attack. "What you looking for?" A voice spoke out quietly from behind him, causing Drake to almost piss himself as he jumped away from a smoking Natsu. His clothes were a tad damaged, yet that was all that was done to the Salamander. Ember appeared next to Drake a few moments later. "Thought so…he ate the damn explosion before it could hurt him." The fire mage muttered a bit. "I thought if I raced the temperature fast enough to create a chain-reaction with the air, he couldn't eat it in time. Seems I was wrong…." Drake kept his eyes on Natsu, tightening his grip on a pair of javelings he pulled out.

"You know…" Natsu began as he looked over Drake. "You are almost an exact copy of the Titania…except she's about five times stronger. I'm also sure she has like a thousand more armors than you do…she's the type that has one for everything it seems." The salmon-haired mage seemed to lose his focus on his two opponents, his mind travelling to think of a certain scarlet-haired mage. It was kind of silly how often she occupied his thoughts these days, anymore of this and people would mistake him for a stalker, something he did not need to add to his already large resume of reason to avoid him, right next to destroying a town.

A tick mark appeared on Drake's head at the obvious lack of focus on Natsu's part. "Kill…kill…going to kill…" Drake kept muttering as Ember sweat-dropped at how short tempered his partner was. The fire mage glanced at Natsu who was still day-dreaming, shaking his head at the two of them. 'I get paired with an idiot to kill an idiot…why does the Captain do this to me?' Said man was still watching the fight, not even having moved from the last time they looked at him. "Captain….can I kill Drake? He's mumbling to himself again…." Ember asked politely, getting a smack over his head from Drake. "Shut up…anyways, Salamander seems to be back from his dream so let's get ready."

They both looked back at Natsu to find he was right in front of both of their faces, an insane smile on his face. Grabbing both of their faces, fire runes appeared in his hands as they lit on fire. "**Wing-beat of the Fire Dragon!" **He slammed both of them down as he swung his arms, sliding past them as he chuckled. "Sorry….but I don't think your boss will get involved unless I start beating the shit out of you two…and I still have to go find Jose. So…grit your teeth and bare it." He send a bone chilling grin at Drake and Ember as the two raised their guards, all for naught.

Appearing behind him, Natsu pulled his head back, leaning forward suddenly. "**Fire-Dragon's Roar!" **A wave of flames shot after them, earning Drake a good burn on his back and Ember his right arm to be blackened from the attack. "**Fire-Dragon's Flaming Elbow!" **Drake suddenly slammed into the ground, Natsu above him as the Dragon-slayer went to Ember. "**Flame wall!" **Natsu just jumped right through it, **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" **Ember was sent flying right at their Captain who simply stepped to the side, letting his comrade crash into the wall.

Before Natsu could attack the downed Drake, a torrent of lightning blasted him into the opposite wall. Looking up from the hole, the once cloaked man appeared standing, bleached blonde hair, an impassive face, and about the same size as Natsu. "Well…that hurt more than I thought it would." Natsu grinned a bit, a small trickle of blood falling him his mouth as he rubbed his bruised cheek. "That speed….tch, cheating ass. Lightning is too fast." Natsu stood and looked at the 'Captain' as his two subordinates stepped away from the two power-houses.

"So…mind if I ask who I'm about to burn to a crisp?" Natsu slammed his fists together as he grinned, magical seals appearing around his hands as fire erupted from his body into a tower of flames. Matching the tower, an explosion of electricity came from the Captain of the Thundering Seven, equaling Natsu's. "People call me Odin….as the ruler of the heavens, I will be striking down any dragons attempting to fly." Odin spoke a bit in a small bit of pride.

Both men were quiet for a few moments as the magical energy settled until Natsu dashed forward, flames around his feet increasing his speed as Odin went to match him. "**Fire-Dragon's Crushing Maw!" **Natsu sent his fist forward as Odin connected with his own, lightning exploding from his arm. "**Lightning Hammer!" **Both attacks clashed together, the entire guild shaking and threatening to break apart from the clash of the two, an explosion blinding everyone as the two continued battling for dominance.


	9. Who wins? I do!

**Author's Note:**

**Soooo, yeah. I really don't know what to say about not updating for so long, I probably should have given a warning about it. College was winding down and Finals, yada yada. The usual reason for college students, though I am sorry that I haven't updated in forever. I'll try to get back to updating regularly, since I had honestly gotten several good reviews about everything I've written about so far.**

**As a small warning though, do not expect heavily regular updates like when I first started out, which was every 3-5 days. Maybe once a week or a tad longer, unless I get some more inspiration for my own settings. I don't wish to solely copy the plotline of the story, so I'm going to throw in extra chapters including possible 'chance' encounters, as well as some backstory for Atlas and the rest of the gang, who I planned to remain entirely mysterious until each of them have a defining moment.**

**There have also been some private messages I've been getting regarding some conflicts of interests regarding some strength of each person in my story, like how the Seven Kin wouldn't wipe out Reaper's Scythe. Let's be honest….the Seven Kin are only dangerous to random, lower-tier Mages. I'm honestly believing that Natsu could take 2-3 of them if it wasn't for him immediately getting paired off against Zancrow. More of this will come in the future.**

**Enough of the notes. **

**Well, not yet, LAST thing, I swear. Anyone interested in adding Ultear or another popular female character to take an interest in Natsu? The possible addition is below.**

**Ultear **

**Edolas Erza**

**Mirajane**

**Cana (Always kind of liked her, no idea why….maybe cause of the alcohol. . )**

**Anyways, you have a week to vote on the public reviews! Well, I guess a fifth option is you don't want a second girl in this and are purely into the main couple. Tell me!**

**Anyways, back to the story!**

_Last Time:_

Both men were quiet for a few moments as the magical energy settled until Natsu dashed forward, flames around his feet increasing his speed as Odin went to match him. "**Fire-Dragon's Crushing Maw!" **Natsu sent his fist forward as Odin connected with his own, lightning exploding from his arm. "**Lightning Hammer!" **Both attacks clashed together, the entire guild shaking and threatening to break apart from the clash of the two, an explosion blinding everyone as the two continued battling for dominance.

_Present:_

Flames and lightning danced around one another in an attempt to push the opposing force back, as the two sides seemed dead even. Drake and Ember were staring with wide eyes at the attack as they were avoiding arcs of lightning and torrents of fire hitting them. No one had managed to block their Captain's attack or even properly defend against it, yet this idiot managed to with one attack, and even seemed to be holding back!

Natsu was grinning like a mad man who was playing with his new toys, while the man known as Odin kept a passive expression, though his eyes were filled with their own type of excitement, the one where a strong person meets another strong, if not stronger, opponent. This deadlock seemed to go on for hours, but in actuality it only took half a minute for a winner of this clash to be decided. As the final second passed by, the entire area flashed with a bright white light, blinding Ember and Drake as to who won the exchange. A thundering crash filled the room as someone flew into a wall, and a groan came from next to them.

'That could have gone better' the figure thought as they shot a hand out of the rubble, a decent bit of blood flowing down his arm and onto the rocks below. 'Haven't met a guy who could punch like that since the Saint….even Erza didn't hit like this.' Natsu thought as he climbed out of the rubble, a glare and frown finding itself situated on his face.

"Is that all the dragon has?" Natsu turned his head to look at the one who asked the question and growled silently at Odin who was as usual, showing a passive expression. Lightning was still surrounding his body as it seemed to listen to his every movement without even having to be told what to do. "Che, bastard. You aren't letting on to how strong you are. I hate people like that" was the reply from the Dragon Slayer.

Odin perked a brow silently, "So you hate yourself." Before Natsu could retort, Odin continued on, "I know for a fact you held back, a lot, in that attack. You wish to conserve your power for Master Jose, yes?" The silence from the Fire mage answered the question better than any verbal response could. "You have no hope to beat me if you do not come at me with everything you have, dragon."

"Oh?" The response got all three of the enemies present to look at him in some mild surprise, the question was laced with a much deeper tone than anything they'd heard from Natsu before. "You want me at my best….that's a risky request." Odin, who was finally losing a little nerve at the supposed arrogance of this kid before him, replied in a growl. "Enough, brat, your arrogance knows no bounds, you will not win this-"

He got no further before he had to quickly raise his arms in alarm in a cross block as a kick fell down and forced the stone beneath them to crack and cave, from the force of the strike. Keeping his upright position, he blocked the strike down to the next floor, not letting it reach his face. 'Oh? Without my lightning enhancement, that would have taken my head off. As long as he takes me seriously and loses to Jose, our mission is complete.' This was Odin's thought as he avoided a punch that grazed his cheek, yet the force behind it turned his entire body around and spun him into a wall.

On the other side of this assault, Natsu landed gently on the ground, hands at his side with blood dripping down his right arm. Behind him, Ember and Drake jumped down and noting their Captain was in the wall, finally decided to act. Drake came down from over Natsu with a spear to impale him all the way through, while Ember, knowing his magic wouldn't do much, opted to pin Natsu by wrapping his arms under his shoulders and pinning them behind his back.

This would have worked, were it not for three reasons. The first being Ember who yelled in pain as soon as he touched Natsu, the second being the spear melting and dispersing into thin air, and the final fact was Natsu had them encased in a tomb of fire "**Hell's Grasp"**, Natsu muttered. Such blistering heat immediately made the two feel like they were being boiled alive, which for all intent and purposes, they were. Seconds later, the fires dispersed, depositing the two men onto the ground, each of their bodies sporting heavy burns. Natsu never looked away from the pile of rubble, knowing for a fact that the attack would have barely tickled this man unless he hit him full on.

He was proven right as the rubble exploded, Odin stepping out with his cloak missing, a scowl on his face as he noted the states of the two. "Idiots….they know not to interfere in my battles. I'll punish them later, after I take your head, little dragon." The entire battle so far involved magic only in the opening bout, yet now it would be the main part of this battle. Fire and Lightning filled the room as both men charged and met in the center of this new room, once more. "**Fire-Dragon's Crushing Maw!". **

'The same attack as before? Foolish! I will crush it again!' Odin thought as he brought his own fist back and slammed it forward, **"Lightning Hammer!". **The two attacks clashed as the room rocked violently, yet this time with far different results. Odin was blasted backwards the moment his fist made contact with Natsu's, sending him crashing back into the wall and into an opposite room. The battle so far had spanned three rooms, costing him two men, and what felt like a few fractured ribs. 'The hell was that? I can't even justify how powerful that was, it made his last attempt seemed like a C-class mage's weakest spell!' Odin growled to himself as he stood up. His hands shot forward into set patterns into the air, creating a rune in front of his form. "Try this, Dragon-Slayer!"

"**Yggdrasil!" **The spell activated the second Natsu entered the room with flames roaring around his legs to let him fly and catch up to his opponent. However, the exact second he entered the room, everything was different. Instead of a stone room, everything was….decorated by lightning? He narrowed his eyes at the room that now had lightning chasing around the walls, where in the center what seemed to be made a tree of raw lightning, with Odin at the center of it, stood. "Try to live." Odin spoke out in a calm tone, and as he did, all hell broke loose.

Lightning-like roots snapped to life and went after Natsu like whips while the tree started growing bigger. Frowning, Natsu flew back towards the hole in the wall, something about this wasn't sitting right, besides the whips trying to electrocute him to death. Just as he was about to reach the hole, it was covered in a thick lightning barrier, which shocked him rather terribly before he came back. Still dodging the whips, seemingly not as fast as Lightning magic should be, he looked back to the tree, which was double the size as it was before.

"Oh shit…." The words from Natsu, who had just figured out what was about to happen, filled the air. 'A shitting bomb?! In a locked room that is made up of the same damn element, so I'm the only one who's going to get attacked in the entire damn guild!' Throwing his hands up into the air, where he already was, as the unfairness of the situation hit him. 'Why can't he zap the other three? Why the hell is it always me with this crap?'

**With Atlas and Rose:**

Atlas rammed his shoulder into Dozer who flew back into a wall as his partner joined him there. Each of the enemy mages were glaring at the two dragon-slayers that had slowly but surely been overpowering them once they activated these 'Drives' of theirs. All four of the mages were covered in bruises and cuts, some of them more minor or major than others. The one person who looked closest to the end of his rope was Dozer, who had been on the receiving end of Atlas's brute strength, yet the giant of a man was far from beaten.

Rose appeared next to Atlas, a fresh cut along her neck dangerously close to an artery, drawing a scowl from Atlas. "These two are good….still able to put up a fight after we activated the drives. This would be nice if we weren't fighting for our lives." Rose commented idly as she seemed unconcerned she was about to be knocking on death's door a few moments ago when she had got dangerously close to a water slicing attack. "Yeah, this is a pretty nice fight, though we can't stay here for long. If Natsu is fighting, it's only a matter of time before the guild comes down when he meets Jose." Rose was about to nod, but a light round of laughing came from the woman who stood, rubbing blood from her mouth. "The Captain won't lose…we know all about your little Fire-Dragon Slayer, and the captain picked him out on purpose."

Dozer and the woman, who they eventually learned was named Cillica, when Dozer had shouted at her to dodge a certain attack, were ready to go again. This time they seemed off a bit as they stood a tad closer together. "Dear…why don't we end this? The Captain is going to lecture us later." Dozer spoke out calmly as Cillica nodded once, all the while Rose and I were wide eyed at this. One, who could possibly be with this woman and still be sane, and two, it's this huge guy that seemed like an emotionless rock? Wait….that actually made sense why he could stand her then, even Atlas was slightly creeped out by the woman, and being the most level headed member of the group, that's saying something.

Cillica and Dozer clasped hands as the entire room rumbled, pipes breaking through the walls as the bricks slowly levitated into the air, which happened to be about a hundred or so from the looks of things. Each of the bricks compacted into spikes as the water did the same, making Rose and Atlas face possibly two hundred sharp and pointy objects that were suddenly appearing. The next thing that happened though confused him even more, the water was….going into the rocks?

As this finished, one of them suddenly shot forward as Rose and Atlas dove apart to dodge it, wary of what it might do, and it was a good thing they did. The second it hit the ground, it exploded from the water pressure being released, blasting shards of rock and highly pressured water everywhere. One might not know this, but if the pressure of water at the point of impact is high enough, it feels like a slab of steel hitting you. **"Mortar Barrage!"**

'A freaking grenade?!' Rose screamed inside of her mind, as the first one hit the floor, the rest suddenly came after them. Normally they'd eat such an attack, but there was too much and they were too fast to possibly eat everything, unless…."Atlas! Selective eating!" Atlas was confused at first before he realized what she was saying just as the rest of the shards hit the ground. Dozer and Cillica hid behind a giant water wall that encased them as everything went to hell. The shards of compacted brick stopped in the air and went directly into Atlas's mouth as the water did the same to Rose.

The two of them had temporarily released a large portion of their magic into the room, allowing them free reign over their element. While expending such magic was costly, it was negated as they soon regained their magic from the attacks they had just ate. "Thank you for the meal." Came the reply from the two freshly empowered dragon-slayers. Cillica and Dozer felt cold sweat run down their necks as the two slayers jumped to one another. Rose in front of Atlas, who set his hands on her hips to keep her balanced, something she lost when her foot was injured earlier in the fight to a degree where she couldn't rapidly lean back for roars anymore. Each of them leaned back as they concentrated their magic into one direct point.

"**Gaea's Roar!" **The two of them shouted at once. Life could not flourish without water, but it could not start without rich earth. No matter what it was, these two were connected more tightly than anyone could ever truly understand. Right as the roar left their mouths, Dozer and Cillica saw it combine into a brilliant flow of green as the concentrated water seemed to bring life to the earth's rich soil. A small smile rested on their faces as the attack hit, blasting them back into a large array of machines. The roar continued all the way out through the side of the moving guild, shooting across the surface on the ocean. Unknown to them, this display was seen by everyone fighting outside of the guild as the green roar made everyone, even the shades, turn to view it until it dissipated.

Panting and on their knees, both Dragon Slayers were smiling at one another, but they weren't the only ones. Their enemies were smiling as well, still awake, yet unable to move currently with how their bodies felt numb. "Well….what's next?" Rose asked with a laugh, drawing a chuckle from Atlas. A sudden explosion from below them that seemed to threaten to tear apart the entire guild occurred, drawing concerned looks from both of them. "That's…Captain." A deep voice spoke, as Dozer slowly raised his head, painfully might he add, to look at the two slayers. "He's…stronger than you'd possibly believe. If you fear for your friend….go."

Neither of the two needed to be informed twice, while they were exhausted, that attack sounded serious as Atlas lifted one of Rose's arms over his shoulders. Too weak to transport themselves via their elements, they were forced into an awkward type of jog out of the ruined room. "Kids these days…." Cillica muttered next to him, drawing a pained chuckle from Dozer. "Hey, our kids would be pissed if they heard that." "Shut up, Franklin."

**To Jess's….battle?**

Looking into the room, a person would cringe as they noted the large amount of slashes along the walls, floor, and…anything in general that was inside the room. Craters littered everywhere, numbering in the dozens, obviously caused by attacks meant to brutally hurt and cripple someone, if the swirls around the point of impact was anything to go by. However, the most notable thing in the room was Jess, who was currently sitting atop her new throne with one leg crossed over the other.

Both of the men below her were groaning in pain, slashes littered their bodies, so many cuts you'd think they were fileted for fun. That was not all, as on several points of their bodies, it seemed their clothing was twisted around a certain point of impact, into that of a fist that was firmly planted against their bodies. While not seriously injured, it looked like someone had taken their time in dealing with these two, if the bored look upon Jess's face was anything to go by. Sure, she had a few bruises and cuts here and there, but other than that, it was like she was perfectly fine. Her most notable injury was from when she stepped onto one of the idiots exploding mines he placed in the smokescreen before she managed to blow it away.

This resulted in a severely fractured left leg, yet with her magic, she floated wherever she needed to go so there was no risk of putting any weight onto it. "Demon…woman…" Gald finally managed to breathe out as he tried to raise his head, only to get help from Jess who yanked on his hair. "What was that, **filth?**" Gald gulped down as Tora managed to growl out. "Idiot….don't make her…start again….please." Jess gave a sadistic grin down to Gald who seemed very close to pissing himself, which would in turn piss off Tora into possibly defecting sides and helping kick his ass.

"U-uh, you're very beautiful! Most a-amazing w-woman in the world!" Gald quickly exclaimed as his head was rammed down into the floor, drawing another groan from him. "Thank you~! I thought that was what you said~!" Jess smiled, as if she never seemed about to castrate the man anyways. She gripped both of their hairs, earning them groans, when all of a sudden the room had started shaking. 'The hell? Atlas and Rose went that far, and against only two people, together. I'll have to-' she never got to finish as all of a sudden, a much, much larger quake hit the guild and nearly tipped her to the floor. "What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed, that wasn't from Natsu, she didn't feel his magic behind it. "B-boss….just got serious. The idiot is…toast now. The Tree leaves no one standing." Tora managed to get out.

Jess slammed both of their heads back into the ground and kicked them with her good leg as she levitated into the air, throwing them into a pile of rubble. She immediately started to fly off into the area in which she left Natsu. 'That magic had enough power behind it to level the guild, yet it didn't, so it was concentrated? Even Natsu might be in trouble from that, unless…"

**To Erza and Jose! *Cackle* Didn't expect that, did you?**

Erza Scarlet was having a –very- bad day, and from a girl who came from being enslaved by Zeref worshippers, fought her way up to being S-class, and has gone on so many dangerous missions it would seem funny, that was saying something. It started when Phantom Lord decided to attack their members, they lost the assault when the master was hurt, and they were forced to retreat! Then she blocked the Jupiter cannon not even half an hour ago, nearly losing her life in the process, now she was facing off against a Wizard Saint! Raising her sword to block a kick by trying to slice the leg, it suddenly blasted shadows at her, slamming her back into the ground, making a trail ten feet long along the bricks. "Now now, is this all the mighty Titania can offer to me?"

That voice, it irritated Erza to no end as she slowly got up and got into another position to continue this struggle of a battle, if it could even be called that at the moment. Jose was standing where he was when he landed the attack on her, not really in any hurry to continue up on the attack itself.

"Shut up! You don't have the right to speak, criminal! You'll be punished for all of this!" She shouted at the man who disgraced the name of the cloak and badge he wore that informed every one of his standing. "Ah, but why would I? It's my word against a guild that has done nothing but earn the ire from the council….I might even get promoted for this!" Jose laughed as he clapped his hands together, excited about the entire scenario. What reason did he not have to be? Makarov was likely on his deathbed, Fairy Tail was about to be destroyed by his shades, he had Lucy Heartphillia and Gajeel not half a room from him, watching. Gajeel informed him that the Dawn's Roar had made contact with the Dragons, and from all the explosions, it seemed to cement that statement. He was confident that the Dawn's Roar would defeat the Dragons, for they outnumbered them and each of them were very strong mages in their own right.

So yes, he was feeling rather good at the moment because everything finally seemed to be going his way, as an added bonus he was even humiliating the mightiest female mage on the continent, Erza Scarlet! "This is the happiest I've felt in years, you trash. Everything is going as planned, not as cleanly as I hoped because of my guild's partial destruction and the loss of my Element Four, but still! By the end of the day, Fairy Tail and Natsu Dragneel, along with his guild, will be gone!"

Erza suddenly froze at the mention of the name of the person she had so many run ins with recently. "What do you mean, Natsu and his guild?" She narrowed her eyes as the man smiled wider, seemingly happy about explaining this. "I hired those idiots with some rather…rare, goods I had. They were to help us fight you, but I simply told them that. I mainly invited them here to be destroyed by Dawn's Roar, whom very expensive I might add, will still get their job done. Have you not been curious of all these explosions?" Truthfully, she had been, but she put it off as her own guild members fighting off Phantom Lord members that had run into them.

The news of Natsu being here, and having been hired to take out Fairy Tail, left a sick feeling in her stomach. She growled slightly, a man she thought wasn't so bad had no qualms about destroying her guild?! About to have another thought, she suddenly stopped as she had to ask herself a question, if she were ordered to, would she not do the same to his own guild if it was required in her job? Remaining quiet for a moment, Jose took the chance to speak again gleefully. "That's not all, Dragneel is facing off against the leader of the Dawn's Roar by himself and two of his allies. While I know I am superior, even I would have a difficult time fighting that man. Dragneel is as good as dead, Titania."

A void seemed to open up in her stomach, yet she had no idea why, as she heard those words. Natsu Dragneel, dead? The thought was very disturbing to her, even though she tried to deny the fact she felt anything more than slight respect for the Dragon-slayer. A sudden explosion suddenly came, soon followed by one that nearly tripled it in intensity. Jose wobbled on his feet as Gajeel and Erza fell on their butts, Lucy already being on the ground was spared the fall, but not rolling around in random directions.

"Ah….that was probably the end of the famed Salamander. Whatever you felt of the boy, discard it, he's dead." Jose grinned triumphantly, even if he was annoyed internally about how expensive it was going to be to repair all of this damage to his guild. Raising his hands as magic filled his body once more, the shadows danced around him as Shades appeared, gruesome and terrible faces glowering down at Titania. "Shall we continue, Fairy Queen?"

Erza scowled as she bolted back onto her feet, though not without flinching from the sudden movement. This did not stop her from transforming into a Light armor variant, meant to ward off shadows. "Come at me, you old coward!" Jose growled as he jumped forward, slamming his attacks down. Feminine yells of pain filled the room.

**To Natsu's fight!**

As Natsu was complaining, the tree glowed just as it finished building magic. "Goodbye, dragon." Odin stated just as he clapped his hands together, the sound filling the room. "**Yggdrasil….overload." **The very air itself turned into electricity as the lightning turned the room into a blinding white, the sound of it arcing and hitting every millimeter of space outside of Odin's personal area of protection blocking out any screams that would come from the boy he was facing. Slowly, everything faded back into view as the charred remnants of the room was solid black. Nothing made of flesh would be left besides ashes, where several crates and other supplies had already turned into piles of it. 'It was a decent fight…but not worth my time. It seems he doesn't live up to-'

"Yo", the reply from Natsu's voice filled the air as he smashed Odin's face into the ground from behind, drawing a surprised yell from the man whom he just hit. Standing behind him, in an unharmed state, was Natsu who was sporting the biggest shit eating grin he possibly could. Odin jumped back from the small crater he made, open mouthed at what he was seeing. "H-how? That had enough power it in to level this guild!" It was the truth, if it was a simple explosion of raw magic, it would have destroyed the guild itself, unless Jose decided to block the magic.

"My flames are a bit….peculiar, I think the word is….right? Anyways, my flames have a nasty habit of burning everything into nothing." Odin growled, catching onto what the Dragon-slayer was implying, "You can't burn magic, fool." Natsu shook his head, "Really? Because I think I just did." Slamming his palms together, Odin shouted, "**Lightning Crash!"**, an attack that formed solid walls of lightning from opposite sides of Natsu and slammed into him, yet this attack turned useless as the lightning harmlessly dispersed into air. The fire dragon-slayer seemed rather bored, yet on the inside he was frowning, while it was true his fire could do this, it was only when he added more magic into it, thus draining him at a quicker pace, yet he wasn't about to let Odin know this. "Just to make this less pathetic, I won't use the magic destroying part anymore."

Odin was wary, he knew something was up the second the offer came to him. This benefitted his opponent in no way, so he immediately began to think of why he'd say this. The solution was what Natsu knew he didn't want him to figure out as a grin lit upon his face. "Clever trick, but you can't use it if you want to. You lose too much magic doing it." Natsu shrugged, "Yep, hit the nail on the head." If he figured it out, might as well not bother to play stupid, even though he claimed he did it a lot anyways.

"….let's finish this, Salamander, or would you prefer to be called Dragon?" Natsu shrugged again, a smile plastered on his face at the fact they wouldn't be trying for one-hit kills anymore made him slightly excited. Even if he had to save magic for Jose, he wasn't going to pass up another good fight. "Salamander was always a nice name…Odin. Shall we?" A nod came as both men suddenly disappeared.

"**Fire-Dragon's Claw!", "Power Cell!" **A small explosion came from the contact, making Natsu cringe as he found out the reason for that. Odin's leg was encased in lightning at the point of impact, discharging large amounts of lightning on contact. Odin cringed as well, the fire enhanced attack burning his leg slightly. This didn't deter them though as Natsu leaned his head back as Odin clapped his hands together. **"Fire Dragon's Roar!"** The torrent of flames made their way to Odin who slowly opened his eyes.** "Channel!"** A random arc of lightning shot forward from the ground, acting as a bridge that deflected the flames upwards, yet it didn't stop there. **"Lightning God's Blinding Fury!"** An arc of lightning almost as big as the room itself came after Natsu, taking on the form of a spear, as Natsu slammed his foot on the ground.

"**Fire-Dragon's Containment!"** Fire in the shape of a dragon's head appeared from around Natsu's foot in front of him, swallowing the flames as it ate every bit of magic. Swallowing it, the dragon of fire dispersed, taking the Lightning with it.** "Blazing Flame Ignition, Stage Three!"** Clasping his hands tightly, he swung them down in front of him as if he was holding an axe, towards Odin. The man expected a high class attack though as the lightning surrounded him, letting him dodge the explosion of flames that would have burned him to the bone. Instantly appearing behind Natsu who had yet to recover, he set a hand on his back. "**Tremor Shock"**

Natsu roared in pain as his entire form turned yellow from the amount of electricity going through his system. **"Flame Cloak!"** The one roaring in pain now was Odin, his hand charred beyond use as a layer of flames lit across Natsu's body. The disadvantage of his 'Tremor Shock' was it required direct contact, while extremely effective still. Natsu turned and leveled Odin with a fist that broke his nose, blood flying into the air. **"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" **Odin coughed blood as the attack crushed at least four ribs in his chest. Kicking Natsu away, he ignored the pain and placed his good hand forward in the motion of a gun. "**Volt!"** Bullets came out at speeds impossible to see for a normal person, yet Natsu saw them all, and felt a good few of them. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, a few of them tore into his shoulder and legs, one landing in his side. Each of them shocked the muscles around them, freezing his body up to only take more of the bullets.

Finally, the end of the stream came, Odin panting as he had put so much magic into each of his attacks they could each level a building. The breather cost Odin his chance as Natsu appeared in front of him with a look of pure fury. Upper-cutted into the air, Natsu jumped above him and drove him back down into the ground with his feet. This only caused the broken ribs in Odin's chest to shatter further, making blood spew out of his mouth. 'W-what a monster, no matter what I hit him with, he comes back up hitting back harder! The only way to win this is to use my reserve! Shit!' Odin rolled out of the way of another kick as he jumped back, for the first time, away from the fight.

This didn't go unnoticed by Natsu who instantly got wary of what this man was planning, so he rushed forward, to stop Odin from having any time to use whatever he planned to use. Expecting this, Odin suddenly teleported across the room as his hands instantly started working, influenced by his increased speed to create very complicated runic structures. 'Damn, I'm too far to make the roar have enough power to knock him back if I want to fight Jose after. I'll have to just match whatever he uses and end this in the next attack, this fight is drawing out too much of my magic!' Natsu thought quickly as he began building up his own large volume of magic.

"**By the will of the heavens-", "With a single spark, the fire erupts-", **the two chants began, the intensity of the magic power in the room starting to vibrate the air itself as the two continued. **"-I call upon the judgement of the realms-","-from the fire comes the inferno, from the inferno comes destruction-", "-let the final storm end all, let everything fear the heavens!", "From the destruction rises the burning tower!" **As both chants drew closer to the end, everyone in the entire guild felt the amount of magical energy concentrated so close together. Fighting stopped everywhere as the wave of power rolled across everything within miles, scaring those who would normally be scared of nothing.

Silence reigned for only a few seconds before it was ended. **"FINAL ROAD, BYFROST!", " SCORCHING JUDGEMENT!". **The two attacks met, one being such an intense wave of lightning, one could swear they saw the individual ripples of electricity it was in such amazing detail. The other being nothing but unbridled flames of destruction, so terrifying, even the bravest would shrink from the torrent of rage behind the flames. No one knew what it was like to hear of titans clashing until they saw the aftermath and heard of the battle later. Cracks appeared along the entire frame of the guild, metal melting and electrifying, sending torrents of flame and arcs of lightning all the way to the heavens.

If the gods existed, they would be getting a rude awakening that day at the power in which mortals could possess. Each individual outcropping of the attack carved paths through the sea and land that it touched to evaporate or turn to ash. As the attack finally dimmed, one Fire Dragon Slayer stood above the burned, nearly dead body of Odin, a blank look on the slayer's face. "A good fight, one of the best, but not the best I am expecting in my life." Natsu commented. This man was strong, yet the entire time he never felt 'threatened' like he had with Scarlet. He never had a full chance to fight her if each were at their best condition, but he felt something was there she was hiding, something more frightening than what others possessed.

Odin opened one eye as he sported a small, satisfied smile. "You have big fangs and claws for a Salamander….you don't fit the name. Go with Red Dragon…or something….you held back, and still won." Natsu gave an embarrassed smile to the man, tilting his head off to the side. "You noticed, eh?" Odin gave a small nod as three more presences filled the room, the rest of the Elemental Dragons. 'So….the rest of my team was defeated? As expected….truly, these youngsters are monsters in their own right….just how much will they grow?" Odin thought to himself as he gave a dry chuckled.

Jess, Rose, and Atlas ran up to Natsu, well, Jess floated. "What the hell was that explosion? I thought the other one was big, but that one just nearly tore apart the damn guild!" Natsu nudged his head down to Odin who chuckled a bit more at the situation. "Hey brats….were my guys any good." Jess gave an annoyed shake of her head while Rose and Atlas smiled a bit and nodded. 'Tora and Gald…not surprised. I'll lecture them later.' Odin grumbled to himself internally as he nodded.

"Well, whatever you did, you freaked out everyone in town, Natsu. Using your 'Scorching Judgement' at almost full power can bring down half a town, and you concentrated it into this one room…." Jess suddenly hit Natsu upside the head. "WHILE WE WERE IN THE BUILDING, WHAT IF WE GOT HIT TOO?!" She comically shouted as Natsu groaned, rubbing his abused head. "You'd have dodged…..I hoped." He grumbled a bit which earned another whack, this time from each of the other three. "Stop hitting me!" He roared at them, causing them to whistle innocently.

"Whatever…did you get the blonde girl?" Natsu asked Jess as she shook his head. "Gajeel ran off with her, I'm guessing to Jose." Natsu suddenly face-palmed, that's where Erza was, injured and alone with a damn Wizard Saint! "You three, get everyone out of the building, now. I'm going to handle Jose." Atlas shot forward, taking Natsu by his scarf. "Are you an idiot?! You're wounded and you want to take him on alone? Hell no, we're going together!" Atlas frowned as he tried to speak reason to Natsu, but even he knew it was a lost cause.

Flinching in pain as Natsu grabbed his wrist and gripped it tightly, he slowly let the other man go. "As the head of the group, my word is law. Don't make me give an order that I'll regret. I'll handle Jose and meet you up on the mainland, alright?" None of them were happy with the arrangement, but what could they do? When it came down to it, Natsu still had the most magic left, and his absurd stamina and strong headedness was admiring at the very least. Jess finally nodded as she levitated Odin's charred body into the air with some levitation magic thanks to controlling the wind. "Alright Natsu, we'll trust you. Come on you two, we need to leave."

Odin slowly tilted his head, frowning at Natsu. He knew the dragon-slayer was more wounded than he let on, he knew the last attack actually connected with Natsu, it was just the boy was somehow standing on willpower alone. Saying anything now would only degrade the situation as he was pulled away after the others. Raising his voice to be heard, he addressed Natsu. "Dragneel!" Natsu turned his head to Odin. "Kick his ass." Natsu smirked at the man he might consider a friend in the future. People bonded in strange ways through battle, this incident between the two sides, instigated by another party, was such a case. "You bet, I'm fired up!" Was the usual response as he slammed his knuckles together, running into an opposite direction, following the sweet smell of Erza Scarlet that drifted through the building, showing areas she has been. After a few minutes, female screams hit his ears, that sounded too much like Erza's.

His eyes glowed red as he shot forward at even greater speeds, his movements blurs that only showed a flash of pink moving through the halls. Nothing, and he means nothing, ever had the right to hurt Scarlet the way she was now, she was already injured by Jupiter. He knew Jose had no morales, but to attack the red-headed girl he often thought about, which might be a too much for Erza's liking, deserved punishment worse than death. Appearing in the hallway that led to the room in which the sounds came from, he nearly doubled his speed, slamming his shoulder into the door to expose what was in the room.

**Author's Note:**

**I thought of ending it right there, but then I remembered something I am rather ashamed of. I haven't updated for all of you in so long, and even though this is a longer chapter than usual, I'm only going to add more and finish the Phantom Lord arc in this entire chapter! **

**Back to the story!**

**The Phantom Lord Control Room:**

Jose was grinning madly as he held Erza up by her neck, using his Shade magic to form a noose that connected to the ceiling. He was slowly draining the life out of the Titania, and to add all of it, he even included an extra service for everyone. Behind him was a Vision Lacryma, creating a large-scale screen in front of the barely standing Fairy Tail guild for everyone to watch Erza Scarlet die. Many of them had tears in their eyes, others were shouting that he was a madman, not that he would deny it, and some wished to try and goad him out to fight them instead.

He ignored all of this as his face was plastered with a cruel smirk as the color from Titania's face kept depleting itself. It was a wonderful day, the fighting stopped, and he held no doubt that in a few minutes Odin would come in and boast about his victory with his friends at his side. This would garner praise from Jose who would throw a celebration with them and offer them spots in his guild, which would be foolish to not accept.

Everything seemed perfect as he tightened the grip on the noose by flexing his hand, drawing a scream of pain from Erza, who was in her Purgatory Armor, what was left of it at least. Bruised, bleeding, and nearly dead, nothing robbed her of her defiant aura as she refused to beg for mercy. She knew she wasn't long for this world, as her last remnants of strength to stay awake started to slip away. 'So I die like this….where my friends have to watch. I'm so weak…I couldn't do anything, for anyone. Just when I thought I could protect everyone…I am proven wrong.' A small tear ran down her left eye and fell to the floor, unnoticed by all except Lucy who had to watch next to a grimacing Gajeel. Lucy was crying her heart out as she begged for this to end and Erza to be let go, but like the rest, she was ignored. Gajeel felt no pride in this, he had only beaten his targets, not actually put them through torture like this and about to kill them.

As Erza looked to her friends on the screen, she oddly didn't see any of them. The only image in her mind at the moment was a certain pink-haired Dragon Slayer that had plagued almost every waking moment of her days and nights. Every part of him captivated her, his foolish nature that somehow wandered into a playfulness she could never know. His smile that seemed sincere whenever he looked at someone, that kind face that could become focused and enraged, yet these weren't what entirely got her to think of him. It was like something was hidden about him, something buried so deep it would take lifetimes to uncover. He had been through something that made him into the way he is, she only wished she could find out. "Natsu….i'm not as strong as you thought…sorry, you'll have to move on to find another one more worthy."

"What are you blabbering about, you dying piece of trash?" Jose had a confused look on his face as he tightened his grip, earning another grunt of pain. He would have crushed her further, but he felt a presence appear on his level of the floor, making him immediately think it was Odin coming in to report, so he waited with a grin. Odin was about to tell it to her face that Dragneel was dead, and her despair would be worth it.

The next thing that happened was the door being slammed off its hinges as Natsu barreled into the room. He didn't stop there as he continued his momentum and slammed his shoulder into Jose's gut, making the man cough up some spit as his face was shocked, to say the least. Flying back into Gajeel who couldn't respond in time, they both went into the wall.

"I heard some disappointing things, Erza." Natsu spoke as he caught Erza, who fell when the noose of shadows broke apart from Jose's shock. Erza couldn't believe her eyes, she thought it was a sick joke at first but this familiar warmth rushing over her when she was held bridal style by him told her this was real. A lone tear escaped her eye as she chuckled. "Sorry, almost dying makes you say a few crazy things, Dragneel." They grinned at each other as Natsu walked a bit away, setting Erza down against the wall to the side.

Spotting the lacryma sporting the stunned faces of all those who looked at him, he gave a frown. To make her guild watch this…disgusting. His body started trembling as Erza looked startled, resting a hand she slowly managed to raise to his arm. The form of Natsu stopped trembling, and when he turned his face to her, she almost felt the need to crawl in a hole and hide. His face was that of…rage? Fury? Disgust? She couldn't place any of it, but what she knew was she wouldn't have to worry about Natsu in this fight.

Across the room, Jose crawled out of the rubble as he threw Gajeel over to Lucy. "Move the girl out of here, I still want the money from the job." Gajeel, while annoyed at being ordered around like this, noted that Jose wasn't shouting, and that scared him. When his master was mad, he'd be yelling and cursing endlessly, but he sounded…..calm? Yes, this definitely scared him more than anything as he shot to Lucy, scooping her over his shoulder as he jumped off the guild through the hole in the wall.

Natsu assumed she was being taken to land, from where Gajeel was looking when he jumped out. Glancing to Jose, he knew the man was at his deadliest in calm situations, so he had to get Erza away. That answer came in a disobedient friend and guild member. Jess materialized next to him, drawing a yelp of surprise from Erza who blushed at the sound she made. Nats felt relieved as he didn't take his eyes off the slowly approaching figure of Jose. "Jess, out of here with Scarlet, now. This is going to get messy, quick." Jess nodded quickly but stopped when Erza grabbed Natsu. Yanking him close, she suddenly kissed his cheek, breaking him out of his concentration as his face lit up to match Erza's hair, who matched it as well. Jess was staring opened mouthed slightly like a gaping fish.

"If you die I'll bring you back and kill you myself, Salamander." Erza threatened darkly, getting a numb nod from Natsu before he looked to Jess. Getting the message, the other slayer picked up Erza, well, more like grabbed her and yanked her to her feet. Both disappeared in a breeze out of the hole, past Jose who didn't seem to care about them.

The point of his focus had pink hair, an annoying mouth, and an unmatched ability to piss someone off. "You…ruined….EVERYTHING!" Jose roared as his magic burst forth in large torrents. Natsu grinned cheekily, matching the magic with his own, though he struggled to do in his present condition. "Kind of what we are good at, take what we want, burn everything else, kind of the motto, you know?" Natsu shrugged a bit as Jose fumed.

"**Dual Dead-Wave!"** Jose shouted as Natsu slammed his fist forward, **"Fire-Dragon's Mirror!" **It wasn't so much a mirror, but it did a good job at dispersing the dark magic in separate directions and burning the remnants of the magic into nothing, causing Natsu to pant a little. He had to use the spell, Jose started this fight off with a big move. "I'll kill you, then I'll kill that Titania bitch!" Jose snarled out as he walked closer, the ground crumbling around him under the pressure of his magic.

"I was choking the life out of her as I tortured her in front of her friends. Her screams were music to my ears, you know." Jose commented, calming slightly at such good memories of torturing the woman. He also knew this would bring about Natsu's anger, which he was hoping for, so he could kill this cheeky brat and be done with this annoyance, than he would move onto the rest of the members outside.

"**Shade Crush!", "Dead Beam!", "Dead-Wave!". **Three spells in rapid succession, none of them allowing Natsu to move from his resting position, yet he wasn't able to dodge mainly because he was thinking over Jose's words that he had tortured Erza. Talking of such things….his head tilted down as he slowly got up, his body badly bleeding from the attacks that tore his vest off, leaving him in his scarf and shorts. "Tch, stay dead, you look like you are already there anyways!" Jose yelled out.

Holding his hands above his head, a shadow ball nearly fifteen feet wide appeared, roaring towards him as he clapped his hands together. "**Shadow Ball!" **Natsu growled a little bit as he clapped his own hands together. **"Fire-Dragon's Crushers!" **Two jaws appeared around the ball, crushing it in its teeth, the dragon-like teeth of flame disappearing with the exploding magic of the ball. This blasted Natsu back, but barely ruffled Jose's hair, who was by far in much better condition.

"Weak! I have no idea how you killed the man that was the tenth before me, but you are not worthy of your bounty! I'll claim your head and I might even be raised to one of the four Gods of Ishgal!" Jose claimed as a wave of shadows carved a large gash across Natsu who slumped against a wall. Everything was catching up to him, his muscles were still shaking from the shock he got from Odin. It didn't show on the surface, yet he knew his nerves were badly damaged and so were many of his muscles, contracting upon themselves in agony.

'What a fine mess I'm in, I can't even dodge these stupid attacks…ah, Igneel would be pissed right now…probably giving me a lecture. I already know what he'd say, been told a hundred times to use it.' Natsu thought as he looked up at the screen to show Fairy Tail watching what was a slaughter. His eyes glanced across the faces of those, landing on his three friends and Erza who was leaning against Jess. Erza had a look of horror at what was happening, while Jess and the rest seemed grim. Tilting his head just a bit, he noticed Atlas close his eyes and lower his head, then give a small nod.

'Alright….everything is clear, huh? Great….which means…' he let his gaze fall back to Erza, smiling warmly at her. The confusion on her face that he was telling her things would be alright amused him, but he couldn't get too side tracked. Right in front of him, no more than ten feet, was Jose. A cruel smile slowly crawled up Natsu's face as Atlas had suddenly shot an earth spike into the lacryma on his side, blocking the feed. He imagined the cries of outrage from Erza and the rest, yet this was needed. No one needed to see this.

Jose stepped back as the smile came upon the boy's face. 'What is he smiling about? He's about to die, I'm about to kill him and yet….why did I take a step back?' Jose felt a cold sweat begin to build on his body, suddenly jumping away as a large amount of killing intent filled the air. Jerking his head around to search for it, he assumed another person was in the room, yet it was only then he realized it was from the half-dead boy a few dozen yards away. "What the hell is this? Just die already!" He roared, slamming his hands forward, **"Ultra-Death Pressure Wave!" **

The wave consumed the still figure of Natsu who still had the same grin. As the attack connected, Jose exhaled slowly. 'It's over…finally, I thought something was up, but it was noth-' He cut it short as his magic suddenly exploded apart, fire erupting in the room that filled the entire area. The pillar of fire rose to the ceiling, through it, and into the sky above them. Even with the heat, that cold sweat returned, but a thousand times worse.

He looked to the source of the flame, two red glowing orbs glared at him as his body was shadowed by flame. The figure stepped through the flames, shocking Jose to no end with this boy. Scales….scales! The boy had scales on his arms and body! His teeth were sharp like a snake's, and his entire body and stance showed the strength of a primal predator. But the worst, the worst thing was when he looked into the eyes of the boy….no, Dragon. Reptilian slits looked back at him, chilling his soul to the bone.

"Phantom Jose, you stand accused of betraying the pact that was between our guilds on this agreement. You stand accused of insulting the title you are blessed with. You stand accused of trying to murder Reaper's Scythe, my siblings. But most of all…you stand accused of the attempted murder of Erza Scarlet. How do you plead?" His voice range out from the confines of the room, making it boom out and easily heard from those below on the ground.

Jose couldn't stand this anymore as he shouted in fury. "Silence you little shit! I've had enough of this outrage! I'm a Wizard Saint! I'm the leader of the strongest guild in Fiore! I'm your better, I do what I want!" Was the reply, but this didn't bother Natsu in the slightest as he retained a look of passiveness.

"So…you plead guilty. By the courtesy granted by my guild, I will give you one chance. Beg as you kneel for mercy." His magic flared around him, an image of a dragon appearing behind him that made Jose weak at the knees. That voice almost, -almost- made him consider doing what he was told. But Jose stood strong, building all of his magic into his body. "I will not beg, monster child! Come! I will show you who is stronger!" He roared out as his dark magic filled his portion of the room, the other filled by the flames of an enraged dragon.

"So be it, let the rampage begin." Natsu stated. Raising his hand into the air, a red katana fell into his grip as he held it in both hands. Sliding his left foot forward, he held the blade parallel to the ground, the razor sharp edge facing behind Natsu. He disappeared and Jose brought his hands up, guarding his skin with the magic on his palms to stop the blade short.

Both of these men were overflowing with magic, enough to bring many mages to their knees, yet both of these mages would not back down. One filled with pride and ambition, the other filled with unbridled rage that would rear its head and strike forward like a dragon stalking its prey. They met in blow after blow, magic radiating off every attack they used. Neither of them really knew how long they fought, whether it was minutes or hours, but it would not last.

Jose was slammed onto the ground for what felt like the tenth time since this battle started, each time his rage growing. "Enough! I will not be toyed around with like a child!" He finally had enough as he exclaimed, his voice reverberating through the ruined guild. They went through every floor, every room, breaking off large portions of guild that fell into the sea below them. Nastu stood there, heavily wounded, but still the dominant fighter in this exchange. Jose didn't know what this boy did, but the fight was heavily in the favor of the dragon slayer now.

"I don't care what happened or changed with you, I am ending this dispute!" Jose shouted as he flared his magic to the highest point it had been since either of them had met. It was almost a suffocating feeling, yet Natsu felt no threat. Instead, he remained quiet as he finally released the reigns. His own magic spiked, but this time, it didn't match that of Joses. This time, it dominated Jose's magic like it was a child's. Jose watched in horror as Natsu leaned his head, bringing the side of the katana up to his mouth. "You were a fool Jose, you have done too much, and must pay for it. Know this, feel honored, no one else has seen this besides the man before you, in that exact rank." Natsu himself could only use one more attack, there was too much damage to his body, muscles, and nerves, to continue this without actually dying.

Growling, Jose started to channel all of his magic into his hands, if he was going to lose, this pink shit would be going with him. "**Dark World: Extinction!" **Jose roared, the entire guild being consumed by the shadows as everything started to rot. Natsu frowned as he took a deep breathe to steady himself. "**Fire Dragon Slayer's Secret Technique:…..Destructive Eruption!" **Natsu's entire body covered themselves in flames as he let loose a roar, that one who heard it outside of the building, swore it was that of a dragon claiming war to its enemy. The flames turned like an orb around his body, getting smaller and smaller, pressuring itself into such a tight and constrictive form.

As the shadows started to lick at his body, he registered the pain, yet he didn't dare stop what he was doing, for the consequences of doing so were far worse than pain. Finally, it all let loose, the flames seeming to stop in thin air before they rotated at speeds no one could follow, not even the man who made them. No warning as the flames suddenly erupted like a volcano, blasting everything to bits around them, engulfing the shadows, engulfing him, engulfing the entire building, and finally engulfing Jose.

Looking at the guild from the outside, it was only five minutes from the start of the fight that they noticed the lack of magic. That's when they saw the guild seeming to rot in on itself, drawing panicked looks from everyone besides Atlas and his two guildmates. They knew what was happening, yet they were more concerned of the aftermath. Erza was a visible wreck at this point, she should have tried to fight with Natsu, and he was left with a wizard saint while she fled to safety, she was such a coward! Everyone's mind went blank however when the guild suddenly was consumed in flames, and a roar seemed to shake the ground under their feet.

As the flames grew, the pressure built until suddenly the guild exploded, everything turning into charred ash before it even hit the ocean of land, the metal melting on the spot and falling harmlessly into the sea. In all of this, Gajeel was actually watching from a pair of ropes tied around his body, sitting down in front of Mirajane and Cana who held firm grips on him. Lucy was next to them watching as well, bandages on her body as she was wide eyed at what was being done in front of her.

Right when the guild exploded, Gajeel grimaced slightly as he began smelling charred flesh, his ears picking up whimpering and groaning from the surrounding area. That's when from the sky fell a nearly three-quarters dead Jose, alive, and well…breathing. His eyes through were far from alive, they were filled with terror and fear as even in his state, he tried CRAWLING away from everything. Everyone was too shocked to do anything, especially from what happened next.

Makarov appeared in front of Jose, walking from the treeline, a passive expression on his face as he noted that his children were safe and Phantom Lord beaten. He didn't even seem that shocked to see Jose as he was, making everyone assume that he was going to do the same thing anyways. Jose didn't crawling before a foot slammed into his back, earning him a scream of pain as he clawed at the ground. Natsu stood above him, returned to normal, and rather pissed off still. "You lived through that….you get to keep your life." Natsu stated as he slowly looked up into the eyes of Makarov, eyes that were widened in disbelief at the state of Natsu. 'How is this boy not dead?!' Makarov thought, alarmed.

"Boy….stop. You need rest." Makarov spoke in a soft tone, he wasn't even going to ask why Natsu was here, he just knew he was extremely grateful that he was. Jess and the rest, excluding Erza who was being bandaged and treated by Mirajane, walked up. It seemed Jess had a brace around her leg, allowing her to walk slightly, so she had been treated. Natsu looked over Atlas who had a few bandages, but seemed fine. Slowly sliding his foot off of Jose who remained quiet in fear, he slowly began to collapse backwards. A scream from a scarlet haired mage filled the air. "Natsu!"

The said man had the biggest shit eating grin on his face as he looked to the sky, chuckling to himself slightly as he felt his head pulled up and set into someone's soft lap. A scarlet haired mage looked over at him. She didn't know why she felt like doing this, nor did she care. It felt like instinct, everything she did up till now, the kiss, crying, and screaming for him, it all felt natural. "…baka." She spoke softly as he kept the grin. "I won." He responded.

No one spoke in this awkward moment for Fairy Tail and Reaper's Scythe. The last person from each guild they guessed to be involved in a relationship of any kind were the ones who seemed to have an obvious attraction to one another. Finally, Makarov coughed loudly into his hand, earning a glare from Natsu, a blush from Erza who suddenly dropped Natsu's head to the ground with an 'oof!', and a blank look for everyone else.

"Everyone….I can't express how proud I am of everyone…it brings joy to my heart to know that so many children fought like this to secure their own homes, regardless of what guild we are. Phantom Lord will be punished…but for now, I only have a few words for everyone to here. Actually, it's only one word." Everyone looked to him expectantly as he raised a fist into the air, something the rest of Fairy Tail quickly caught onto.

Everyone raised their hands, even Natsu and the rest, bar Gajeel who was tied down and Jose that was shivering on the ground between Natsu and Makarov. As one, all of the voices in the clearing raised to the sky.

"Victory!"

"Hold it right there! All of you are under arrest!"


	10. Author's Note:

**Author's Note:**

**From the way a few of the comments have been going, I'm not entirely surprised with what was being said. I wasn't too fond of the idea myself, and if anyone didn't read the last note I had in the ninth chapter, it was questioning if anyone felt like another girl should be with Natsu besides Erza. **

***Claps hands together* Now, the reason I gave the offer itself was to actually see what would be said from everyone who bothers to read my notes, and I thank you for those who did and gave me your input. It was originally going to be the first ten comments I got regarding the idea, and now that I have those comments, I noted a large majority wish for the story to remain as the main pairing.**

**If people did feel like they wanted another girl, I would have struggled to come up with ideas for how they meet, but I would have done it. I felt like I owe you guys a lot for sticking with me and reading my stories, so I tried to offer something. Now though that I learned so many of you still prefer the original pairing and are actually liking my story so far, things will continue like this.**

**HOWEVER**

**This doesn't make me stop from having other women become interested in Natsu, it just means that Natsu won't feel the same way. I'm going to create a few moments to 'test' the bond that Natsu and Erza have been building over the story, since we all know the first few weeks of a relationship are rather fragile. There won't be too much that I'm going to expose right now, because I like keeping some secrets.**

**I can only imagine how a few of you will view the Jellal and Tower of Heaven chapters coming up in the future, since it will be a nice bit of seeing how strongly they feel for one another.**

**Anyways, look out for a continuation of the story within the next week or two.**

**Next time: **

"**The Caged Dragons?"**


	11. Chained or Unchained?

**Author's Note:**

**Guess whaaaaaat. Yep, it's that time I promised all of you, another chapter! Now, I would like to take this time to address a few reviews I got. **

**Even if a majority of the people who wanted another girl to be involved, I really made my own decision to this. I don't want to include another girl, simply because of some private messages and public reviews that I've gotten. There is a lot of Harem stuff going around, but personally I never got too involved into it myself when I write, I prefer a solid, main couple. **

**That being said, it may upset a few of you, but this is my decision. If I tried to include another girl, it would require an entire backstory on –how- they got so close, and let's be honest, Erza wouldn't allow it anyways. Erza is too thickheaded and a long enough time has been spent for both of them to solidify what they feel to be exclusive to the other, it would just make the story confusing and annoying to understand. However, they only think they are exclusive to one another at the moment, because some past characters might come up for the both of them, hmm? *Hint hint, nudge nudge, cough 'Jellal' cough***

**Now, enough of the notes, let's move on to the chapter, right?**

**I lied. One more thing.**

**I'm a review whore, so I would like reviews on my stories. I only ask that the….'exotic' reviews, involving requests for lemon chapters, bashing my stories, or insults, not be any of those reviews. I don't write that stuff, and I don't tolerate bashing. While helpful criticism is appreciated, insulting my story only makes me think that you are the one who decided to read it, so you wasted your own time.**

**Alright, let's get to the story!**

_Last Time:_

_"Everyone….I can't express how proud I am of everyone…it brings joy to my heart to know that so many children fought like this to secure their own homes, regardless of what guild we are. Phantom Lord will be punished…but for now, I only have a few words for everyone to here. Actually, it's only one word." Everyone looked to him expectantly as he raised a fist into the air, something the rest of Fairy Tail quickly caught onto._

_Everyone raised their hands, even Natsu and the rest, bar Gajeel who was tied down and Jose that was shivering on the ground between Natsu and Makarov. As one, all of the voices in the clearing raised to the sky._

_"Victory!"_

_"Hold it right there! All of you are under arrest!"_

_Now:_

"So…..this sucks." A male voice grumbled out from the steel carriage they found themselves to calling their home for the last three days. Three other voices, one male and two female, agreed in a rather bored tone. If one were to look inside the carriage, they would note the four Elemental Dragons, all bound to separate walls in the carriage with chains around their wrists, ankles, and waists. Each one of them wore a magic sealing collar, keeping them from using their own magic to free themselves of the state they were in.

Natsu lazily looked over his team, each of them already fully healed, besides himself. The other three got off rather light with their injuries, though Jess wasn't fully healed until last night when she could press her foot onto the ground and feel no pain or mobility issues. Atlas and Rose, mainly garnering bruises and cuts, healed within the first night of being imprisoned in here. Natsu himself wasn't in much better condition than what he was when he was arrested, his injuries having been nearly fatal, from both battles that he was in. Odin's lightning abilities threatened to permanently damage his muscles and nerves the first two nights, before the spasms stopped and he could rest properly. Jose's magic was worse, it actually left him with internal bleeding and damages to his magical network.

The shades and shadows that were in each of the attacks had not only attacked him physically, but they disrupted his magical channels that ran through his body. Jose wasn't a Wizard Saint for his magical prowess or skills, but that underlying ability he had that seemed to Natsu, rather cheap. Disrupting magical channels wasn't hard if one versed themselves in it, so Jose being a Saint was kind of a surprise. Natsu would normally have been able to avoid those attacks, but his battle with Odin left him in little condition to do so.

If it came down to it, Natsu believed that Erza could have defeated Jose herself, since her agility was even beyond Natsu's, and her attacks were brutal enough that Natsu felt them. Gritting his teeth, he leaned against the chains that held him in place, the air in the carriage turning hot before the collar glowed, and the air returned to normal temperature. If this hadn't happened, the four of them would have been celebrating, but everything went to shit the second THEY showed up.

_Flashback:_

"_Hold it right there! All of you are under arrest!"_

_The voice that called this out was a Captain of the magical detainment unit of the Council, wearing clean white robes with the cross emblem displayed on his chest and on the staff in his hand. He stood at the front of nearly a hundred or so of his subordinates, each of them carrying staves and looking around at the damage to the land around them. As they strode forward, Makarov went out to meet them, right at the front of Fairy Tail's group._

"_May I ask on what grounds?" Makarov asked in a calm tone, his expression impassive as he looked up to the man, his Wizard Saint's cloak flashing onto his body. The Captain frowned down at Makarov for a moment before he noted the coat the man wore. Bowing his head, though forced, he spoke out in a much more even tone that held a rigid bite to it. _

"_For destroying public property, disturbing the peace, and breaking the Council's law that forbid Guild's from fighting one another for their own gain." He stated loudly, enough to be heard by all those present, and as expected, a chorus of roars and complaints came from Fairy Tail after the accusation. Mirajane and Gray were perhaps the loudest, the Barmaid stomping to the front, temporarily forgetting about Gajeel, whom was still being held by Cana._

"_That's a load of shit! They attacked us and we fought back!" She roared, Gray agreeing with her. "She's right, ask the people in the town, they saw everything!" He inputted, eyeing the unit of men behind the Captain that started moving forward, expecting a riot and preparing to deal with it. Makarov looked to his children, and even though he was proud of them trying to defend their actions, it wasn't smart at the moment. "Enough, you two. Arguing with them will settle nothing….all we can do is let them work this out. We have nothing to hide, therefore we are in no danger, only Phantom Lord." He stated evenly, nodding to the Captain to continue, who surprisingly nodded gratefully. _

"_If these claims are true, we will investigate them. Where is Phantom Jose? He must be included in this investigation." He inquired. In response, the crowd parted to reveal Natsu on the ground with Atlas, Jess, and Rose surrounding him in a protective wall, having heard who it was. A few feet from them was Jose, still curled into a ball on the ground, acting quite lively for his injuries. The Captain's eyes widened immediately as he pointed his staff to the four. "Reaper's Scythe! You are under arrest and charged with the murder of a Wizard Saint and various other atrocities! Seize them and detain the rest for questioning, throw those four into the carriage and lock them up!"_

_Twenty of his men surged forward, only to be stopped by a row of swords planting themselves in the ground ten feet from Natsu and his group. "Touch them and you will deal with me." Erza Scarlet's voice was deadly calm, stepping in front of the twenty men, her hair shadowing her eyes. Each of them took a step back, alarmed at the resistance. Natsu and the others were in no position to run, all of them drained immensely on magic and injured in various areas that kept them from running on foot, especially while having to carry the Fire Dragon-Slayer. _

"_Protecting known criminals?! Arrest her too, arrest all of them who resist!" The Captain roared out, the entire squadron of Council soldiers moving forward as the Fairy Tail members readied their own magical abilities. They weren't about to abandon the people who suddenly appeared and helped them, regardless of their identities. Erza was safe, Jose was defeated, they were saved, all because of these four. Each and everyone one of them would be damned if they let them be arrested._

"_ENOUGH!" Makarov's voice suddenly rang out, along with Natsu's surprisingly. Makarov perked a brow to Natsu who glanced at Atlas, motioning with his head to be helped up. Not taking his eyes off the Council unit, he slowly slid Natsu's arm over his shoulders, helping him up. "I'm tired of fighting…Erza, put your armor and weapon away." He issued the order, a frown on his face. "W-what?! Natsu, you can't, you helped us!" Erza replied, not giving an inch._

"_What, you want to condemn your guild as well? Drop it, Erza. No one is in a position to fight…not even us." Jess glared a bit at Natsu, but she knew he was right, none of them could really defend themselves for the time being. Erza pleadingly looked to Natsu, but upon hearing the truth in his words and the fiery glare in his eyes, her shoulders slumped as the swords disappeared. Taking a step back, the soldiers rushed past them, chains binding the four Dragon Slayers._

"_I hope you know what you're doing, Natsu…" Erza spoke out softly, a few tears spilling from her left eye as she looked down._

_A lot of panicked voices and chains rustling forced her to bring her head up, and when she did, Natsu was standing in front of her. His muscles flexed from overuse, blood falling from the many cuts as the burns seemed to be screaming in pain. However, none if it deterred the scene of a chained Dragon looking down at the princess before him. Looking down to her with a soft and warm smile, he leaned down, and took a risk._

_Stealing her lips with his, he kissed her and stood there, even with the chains struggling to pull him back. A few seconds passed before he pulled back, Erza being too stunned to have moved through any of it. "I'm an idiot, but I do know how to handle myself." He winked once. Blood slowly started to reach Erza's face as she looked like a tomato._

_Stepping away, he followed the now more collected Council unit to the carriage. Passing Makarov, he gave a small smirk as the old man gave an apologetic look to the young man. "I'll do my best, Dragneel. No promises, the Council isn't always the most forgiving."_

_Natsu merely nodded as he and the rest of his siblings were chained to the wall and the carriage doors shutting them, the only light coming from the bars. "Well, isn't this fantastic?" Atlas grunted out right as Natsu fell back against the wall, all the strain on his body finally catching up to him, making him pass out right there. _

"_I hate when this happens." Jess groaned out._

_Present:_

"You said that twenty-three times already….shut up." Rose drawled out, annoyed at how casually Natsu was taking this. They were chained in this metal box for three days, barely given any food or water, and allowed to use the bathroom twice a day. Each of them looked like shit at the moment, though Natsu by far was still the worst.

His body was about three-quarters of the way healed, enough to move and fight a little, but not much else. He couldn't use any large-scale magic spells, let alone teleportation, with this collar on. However, each and every one of them knew that all of this was just a temporary measure. Soon enough, Makarov would have been able to convince the Council, whom he was speaking to by a Lacryma, to release them, or they would be thrown into jail. Well, the three besides Natsu at least.

Natsu would likely be executed for killing a Saint and for all of his other activities through the years. Said man had his eyes closed, pushing a good deal of his magic through his body. Even if the collar prevented him from casting or using magic on the outside, it wasn't high enough quality to completely seal him. These were meant for lower tier mages, perhaps A-class and possibly low S-class. Such freedom allowed him, for the last three days, to channel his magic into helping recover him physically as well as his magical channels. A grin split his face as he felt his left leg's channels open up. "Ninety percent….all that's left is my right arm." He spoke out, drawing grins from the other three.

Natsu could free them from the current situation, as long as he could continue his concentration and no one noticed his magical energy flaunting in the air. They had little doubt that Makarov could feel what he was doing, but no one else was at a level to be able to tell such, or at least that's what they thought.

The door opened to the carriage, a shadow blocking the sunlight, the figure of a woman in skimpy clothing forcing all of them to look at her. Natsu wanted to slam his head into the wall, yet that would take more time to heal. 'Of all the people, why the hell did it have to be this bitch?!' He internally growled to himself, letting his frustration out for once hit. Slamming his head back, he deeply dented the metal, giving him a headache, but a manageable one.

"My oh my, is that how you think of me? I'm hurt, Natsu-kun~!" The voice grated on his ears as Ultear appeared, closing the door behind her so it was now five of them in the carriage. She took a seat right next to Natsu, curling an arm around his waist as the other slowly started going up and down his chest, making him freeze on the spot. Atlas and the others were quietly snickering, while this situation wasn't good for them, seeing Natsu like this made the situation just the slightest bit amusing.

"Why the hell are you here, Malkovich?" Natsu growled out as he tried snapping his teeth at her, only for him to run into a hand that was placed on his chest, keeping him back. The chains helped, of course, to keep him in line.

"So mean, my little dragon~. I'm here to help!" Ultear responded, bringing her arm from his waist to rest above her heart, feigning injury from his words. This caused the snickering to stop and the air to turn rather tense, each of the four glaring at Ultear as the woman felt a cold drop of sweat run down the back of her neck.

"What help would Grimoire Heart offer us?" Atlas narrowed his eyes as he asked the question, his muscles straining against the chains. It was no secret to them to who this woman was, each of them knew of her and her affiliations. From all the run-ins with their guild, they memorized the smell enough to know who they were speaking to. The glares from each of them made the leader of the Kin immediately lean her head back. Each of them had dragons hovering behind their heads.

'These four really do live up to their name….such terrifying pressure. I feel like I'm inside a cage with four wild beasts.' Regaining her voice, she responded, though a bit more calmly. "We can….assist in your escape. Jose was found guilty and is already in prison next to most of the other members of his guild. Redfox is already free, along with a few of the Element Four who disappeared. They escaped during the confusion of your arrest."

The glares didn't lessen, making her swallow before she continued, standing up and moving away from them as she leaned against the closed door. Satisfied with the distance, she resumed speaking. "All we require in return for your freedom is your loyalty to Master Hades and our plans. Join the Kin, work with us, and leave behind your old lives. Save your own hides."

Natsu and the rest jerked against the chains so hard cracks appeared along the metal links, displaying just how powerful each of them were, even if Natsu was slightly weakened, he was still a force to be reckoned with. "Kiss our asses, bitch. We'd never sell out our old man or the rest." Jess hissed out, Rose moving in to talk next.

"Leave, Ultear, before you dig yourself into a deeper hole." She growled out, eyes glowing a dark blue, dark enough to resemble the blackest pits of the ocean's depths.

Ultear remained composed, though her instincts were telling her to leave immediately. She could deal with one of them at a time, bar Natsu, but all four of them looking at her like this was too much for her to be able to not be bothered by. "That is your final decision?" A few moments of silence confirmed it, Natsu being surprisingly quiet, though his thoughts were likely on how to strangle her.

"Very well….you will regret this decision." Ultear frowned a bit as she turned the handle on the door, about to exit. "Oh…and one last thing." She turned to them, smirking cruelly. "Enjoy your new homes." She shut the door behind her, leaving the four of them glaring at the metal frame as they all growled.

"Natsu, I'm going to strangle that bitch!" Jess growled out, Rose nodding in agreement while Atlas looked to Natsu, steam coming off his body, the collar not suppressing all of the magic. Widening his eyes, he slowly grinned, having found a surprising weakness that he should have noticed earlier.

"I think we can do just that….." Instantly, all of their heads snapped to Atlas, confusion on their faces, but they saw the grin on his face and they all returned it. "Natsu, this is going to suck for you, but I need you too…." His voice was mulled out as the scene went to Fairy Tail's guild hall.

_Fairy Tail:_

Erza was fuming, not even Strawberry cake could get her to calm down as she paced back and forth in the guild hall. Six Council enforcement members were at the entrance doors to the Guild, keeping them inside and making sure none of them could possibly escape if that was the motive of a few. Yet, each of them were leaning away from the redhead, sweat rolling down their faces and necks as they nervously tried to make themselves unknown.

In front of them, the S-class 'Re-quip' mage was using all of her strength to keep herself from going out and busting Natsu and his friends out of the steel carriage that was sitting not a hundred yards from their guild. The air was tense, as not even Mirajane decided to speak this time around, keeping an explosion that would erupt from the redhead quiet, for now. Everyone else was trying to act normally, but each and every one of them had scowls on their face.

Near the bar, Lucy was speaking to Mirajane quietly. "I understand they did some bad things, but they helped stopped Phantom Lord and exposed Jose as a corrupt Wizard Saint. That has to count for something….right?" The blonde tried to reason to the Demon of Fairy Tail. On the opposite side of the bar, said woman sighed silently. "Normally, yes….but don't forget, Natsu killed one of them a year or so ago….though he was corrupt as well. Two Saints defeated by the same man hurts the Council's image. It makes them look foolish for not noticing this earlier…and of all things, a neutral guild did it." The white-haired woman sighed a little bit more, setting down the mug she was cleaning.

"But still, this is over the top, even the Council. They have all the evidence, yet from the way gramps looked earlier, the conversation isn't going well with the geezers from the Council." Gray added in, sipping on a mug of beer as even he seemed slightly peeved. While he defeated Juvia and Totomaru of the Element Four, he was slightly angry about the Dragon-Slayer getting the glory, yet even he did not ignore that they would have lost without him. "I hate the guy, but I respect what he did for us." Words like this coming from Gray brought more than a few raised brows, as Cana nearly choked on her barrel of beer.

Ignoring the choking card-mage, Mirajane let a smile grace her face. "Yes, he has done quite a few good things for us. It would be a shame for him to be arrested with his friends." Cana, finally no longer in threat of choking to death, piped in her own piece, though perhaps a bit too loudly as one scarlet haired mage heard. "Too bad…a body like that, I'd love to have it for a night. Sad though….for what he's done, he might be executed for-." A sword went hilt deep into the barrel, splitting it apart.

Behind them was a glaring scarlet haired mage, though a tear was evident in her left eye. "Don't you dare say that….he won't die." Erza seethed out, pulling the sword back to sheathe it, turning away from a beer soaked Cana and walking to the door. She had enough of this, she was no longer going to wait for the Council to make a decision that would be terrible to even consider, she was going to handle this herself.

The six Council enforcement men stopped her, standing in front of the door. A tick mark appeared on her head as she set a hand on the hilt of the sword, drawing nervous glances between the six men. "Move….I will not stand for this injustice. I will free them, like they should have been days ago!" She growled out as one of the men gained enough courage to respond.

"We can't allow that, they are wanted criminals. You are lucky we didn't execute them on the spot! Return back to where you were, or we will arrest you too, this is your only warning." Erza took a step forward until Mirajane and Gray finally decided to step in. Grabbing Erza by her waist and arms, they started to tug her back. "Erza, enough! This will only make things worse! Let gramps handle this!" Gray yelled out, Mirajane continuing. "He's right, Erza! You'll only hurt them more by doing this!"

She ignored their pleas and planted a food forward, forcing them to move towards the door. The staves of the Council unit started to hum with magic, ready to stop Erza Scarlet on the spot. The atmosphere was turning volatile really quick, as a fight was about to break out and turn the situation even worse. "ENOUGH!"

A voice roared out as they all turned to Makarov who stood at the top of the stairs, a look of anger on his face as he slowly made his way down to the first floor. "We can do nothing more than what we have. The Council has reached their decision." He spoke out firmly, gaining the attention of everyone in the guild as Erza was released, staring at the master. A pit was forming in her stomach, something terrible was about to happen.

"The council….decided upon a lighter sentence then they were about to give." Erza was about to smile, thinking things were to be alright, only for her hopes to crumble. "Natsu Dragneel is to be executed in private, while the other members of his guild are to be put to prison, for life." He finished, drawing a roar of outrage from the guild, the noise drawing several dozen enforcement units through the doors to see what was happening.

The Captain of said unit came down the stairs next, a satisfied expression on his face. "Be grateful, they were all to be executed in public for their associated with the Salamander. They were shown mercy." He concluded, beginning to walk towards his unit before Erza appeared in front of him. A sword was raised into the air, her face one of fury. Just as the sword was to be brought down, she was stopped by an explosion from outside, making everyone fall to the ground.

Cries of panic from outside diffused the situation immediately, replaced by advent confusion as the Council unit was about to charge outside before the nearly ten men were thrown through the doors, forcing them all to crash. Recovering first, Erza ran outside, afraid of what was happening now that could make everything worse. However, before she could go anywhere, the voice that came next made her stop, the words chilling her to the bone as she felt genuine fear for the first time since she joined Fairy Tail.

_The Carriage:_

"….I don't like this idea." A depressed Natsu spoke as he had his head down, looking at the floor. Giant sweat-drops appeared on the heads of the other three as they looked down to the man who could save them from all of this.

"Suck it up, Natsu! I don't feel like living the rest of my life in prison, and I know you don't want to have your head on a spike!" Jess growled out as she started thrashing in her chains childishly. Rose was muttering about stupid men while Atlas looked hurt as he tried talking to Natsu. "Natsu, I know you don't want to want to do it, and I know it sucks, you having just recovered somewhat, but you have to." He spoke out pleadingly, if Natsu didn't agree, and it was possible at this point, then they were all screwed.

Natsu was gritting his teeth as the idea came back to mind, it would very likely work, but the back-lash would keep him out of commission for at least two weeks, if not a solid month. "You are asking me to basically destroy my body here, Atlas. I can't use it more than once a month because I have so little practice with it, and you want me to use it again?" He growled out a little bit, trying to find another way with this. He wanted to keep this a secret from Erza, a trump card, for their eventual fight.

Even though he admitted he had feelings for her, he would not let it get in the way of their fight, and he wanted to keep some advantages for it. He knew she was hiding something as well, something she very well could have used to possibly defeat Jose, much like he did. If he used power here, he would lose his advantage and let her keep hers. Yet at the same time, he knew it was really the only way for them to escape, unless he managed to recover enough before the enforcement unit moved them to a non-magical cell, which would certainly keep every ounce of his power locked away until he was out of the room.

A thought soon came to him however, making him give this that much more thought. 'Though….if I let her know, the fight would be more fun…an uphill battle. She isn't the type to use dirty tricks…so she'll come at me honestly. But….if she doesn't...' he shook his head side to side. He should trust her more than this, for god's sake, he knew that he felt more than simple feelings of affection. His instincts told him that he actually cared for her enough to draw three words to his mind. 'I love her. Funny…never thought I would love anyone. Tch, dad's always right, like he can see the future.' He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back, ignoring the arguments from the other three.

_Flashback:_

_A small child was running around what looked like a giant red mound of rock, likely some type of earth that hiding some type of unusual soil. The child had pink hair, an odd color for any child, and a fit body, showing he often moved around and worked in the forest where he called his home, so far from civilization. The mound suddenly started moving, forcing the child to start tumbling back into a giant claw, all the while laughing happily._

_The claw closed, leaving only the boy's head exposed as a gust of air suddenly made him look around, feeling the pressure on his body. "Igneeeeel! Come on, no squeezing!" The child complained, drawing a snort from the red creature known as Igneel who dropped the child. "Natsu, how many times do I have to tell you to not run on me while I'm sleeping?" Came the reply from the massive Dragon who shook his body back and forth, forcing himself into a state of wake. "It's almost noon, dad! Come on, you were training me again today!" Natsu complained as he started jumping up and down, drawing a groan from Igneel._

"_Really, child….you need to stop thinking so much of training. There's a town barely three miles from here…go find a girl or something." He growled out lowly, the depth of his voice making him unable of speaking in any other way. However, the sudden advice drew a confused look from the boy. "A girl? What's a girl?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side as he frowned a little bit. The pink haired child never heard the term before, causing Igneel to panic internally. 'Grandine is going to kill me…I forgot, this entire time, to teach him of Human culture….shit!' _

_Igneel coughed loudly, drawing Natsu's confused face back to him. "We're doing a different type of training today…you need to know exactly what might happen in the future if you ever come to find a female you find worthy enough to call a mate." This only brought more confusion to Natsu, the sudden change in topic from fighting, to what a girl is, to a mate? Stars danced around his head, making him dizzy from thinking so much, only making Igneel sweat-drop slightly._

_Breathing a plume of fire onto the boy, he instantly started to eat up the flames, surprised by the free meal. This caught his attention however for Igneel to continue. "This is one of the few things Humans and Dragons have in common, thus why I'm telling you it first, listen well." Natsu nodded his head, anxious to hear more about what could help him in the future, if it benefitted his training. 'When they reach a certain age, Dragons and Humans go in search of someone they care for. Understand?' Natsu started to nod slightly as he spoke up. "Like I care for you, dad?"_

_Igneel shook his head as he continued. "No…deeper than that. More than family….someone you'd want to spend your life with." He responded as Natsu seemed to think slightly. "I like training a lot! So I can spend my time training!" Was the answer from the child, causing Igneel to smash his head into the ground with such force it almost caused an earthquake around them. 'I swear this child is going to be a clueless idiot when he gets older….ancestors help the world prepare for it.' "No Natsu….someone you love. A person, another Human. Someone you judge good enough to love forever, to die for." _

_Natsu tilted his head again with another frown. "But…that would get in the way of me being strong! If loving someone can't make me strong, I won't love anyone!" The child proclaimed, having thought to avoid having to die so he could live and continue being stronger. Shaking his head slightly, Igneel looked down at the boy. "One day, Natsu, you'll realize bonds make you stronger than you are alone. However…you won't know true strength until you meet a female that you find worthy enough to do whatever you can for it, which means holding no secrets, no bad feelings or ideas. You grow to trust them….more than any other." Seeing the boy still seemingly set in his own belief, Igneel chuckled. "You'll see what I'm talking about…as for now, lesson over."_

_Igneel stood up, each step from him shaking the ground around them as he walked away a few dozen yards, leaving Natsu there. Turning to face the boy, he showed a grin full of razor sharp teeth, which the boy returned now that what he really cared for was coming. "Come, Natsu! Show me the strength of the Son of Igneel, the strength of the strongest Dragon Child that everyone will claim you to be!" The dragon roared out, causing the birds to fly away in panic, along with many animals. _

_Natsu smashed his fists together as fire appeared around his body, his eyes turning into slits as his arms started to scale over. "You got it, dad! I'll beat you and prove how strong I am!" Natsu roared as he charged forward, fists clad in flames that met one fist from Igneel, the memory exploding in a torrent of flames._

_Present:_

Opening his eyes, the other three were looking at him, waiting for his answer, all of the arguing and attempts at convincing him having taken the last half an hour that he had his eyes closed. They had stopped talking just as he opened his eyes, signaling that he made his decision to them, and for each of their sakes, they hoped his stubbornness wouldn't bite them in the ass right now. A grin slowly revealed itself upon his face, his eyes lighting up with an intent flame behind them, the air in the carriage turning insanely hot, but this time, it did not vanish.

His pupils turned into slits, the white of his eyes turning into a deep orange, filled with nothing but flames. The other three were not bothered by the heat, having been around him so long now that it seemed to be normal for them. Atlas slowly grinned as Natsu started to pull against the chains, Jess and Rose grinning as well. Natsu's unnaturally deep voice filled the carriage, scaring the outside guards and forcing them to move away from the carriage that was giving away such insane heat. "Once more….we shall show the world why we are Dragons." Four roars came from the carriage, seeming to shake everything around them, letting them know of the dragons about to gain their freedom. All while this was happening, the metal started melting around them, disrupting the magical cancelling effect of the collars. The second they were free, the three of them instantly vanished, knowing full well what was coming next.

For him to use this, he needed something to expend the energy on, for he was never able to cancel it of his own free will. While he was insanely powerful, he was also too dangerous like this, hence why he never used it in front of others that weren't his enemies. He needed an outlet, and unfortunately for the guards around him and their reinforcements, they were about to be his.

Appearing around the encampment of Rune Knights, numbering nearly four hundred, mainly because they had to house several S-class mages, two Saints, and Reaper's Scythe, they needed the backup. Now, it would come to bite them in the ass, as each of the three activated their Drives. Small spots of scales appeared on their arms and necks, though not even close to what Natsu's was. While normally none of them were like this, they each were raised by dragons, and them being imprisoned brought many violent emotions to the surface at being chained. It was humiliating for them, enough to drag them back to their instincts, that of the Dragons, that of a creature who could never be tamed.

None of them would allow this to go unpunished, not even the usually calm and collected Atlas, the peaceful Rose, or the uncaring Jess. Beyond all of them, Natsu, the very embodiment of fury, would not let anyone escape without being burned. Without any signal, no words, nothing, each of them grinned savagely. Displayed on their faces were predatory grins, fangs hanging down from their canines, the other indication of what they had partially been able to unlock. All of this happened in less than five seconds from the chains being ruined, and at the very center of the camp, a terrified Ultear felt the magical spike as an explosion came from behind her, where the carriage was.

Snatching her head around, she closed her eyes as she opened them wide. Something was very wrong now, she should have felt the buildup of magic, yet it was so sudden that it was shocking. 'Three…no, four. Four magical spikes, one stronger than the rest, so that has to be Salamander. Are they using their 'Drives?' This could turn bad….' Just as she summoned her orb and was about to disappear, a voice came from the smoke of the carriage, something so deep and terrible, it chilled her to the bone.

"**Dragons…..do not like to be chained. I think you all need to be reminded….of who we are. Now, shall we play, little Knights? Come….let us see if you can slay the dragons." **

**Author's Note:**

**Not my best work, I felt a little tired and annoyed while I wrote this, it being nearly four in the morning that I finished the chapter. Forgive me for any confusing mistakes that might come up, and if it gets too bad, I'll review it to make it clearer and repost the fresh chapter within a few days.**

**But for now, I hope you enjoyed it a little bit, I did the best I could for what I had on hand and ready.**


	12. Author's Note:2

**Author's Note:**

**I'm here to address a few things for everyone, and thank you for all of the wonderful reviews I got from all of you. It makes me really happy to know people will comment on my stories. As for those of you who don't….no cookies for you. *Hands cookies to everyone who reviewed***

**Now, to answer one question I got regarding if Natsu will remain as E.N.D. or not in this story. *Shrugs* Who knows? Spoilers are so bad, I feel like I'm giving away spoilers if I answer any questions, yet I must find myself answering this one since it was such a huge buildup in the manga to finally be exposed. Yes, Natsu will remain as E.N.D. since that is such a huge point in the story that me changing that would seem kind of insane to do. However, I feel that I should also be changing a few things around as well to better fit my own story lines.**

**Different characters will be introduced who will bring up old pasts with members of the Elemental Dragons, including Natsu. Now, I know I stated this before, but I want to make my future chapters 'test' the bond between Erza and Natsu. I don't want them to immediately get together, overlook the bad stuff, and be happy. There needs to be fighting, arguing, tears, and all the other glorious stuff that makes a relationship so painful that it hurts even more to let it go.**

**For those of you who may have forgot, something I think is impossible, Natsu is by no means a saint, not a wizard saint, but a saint in general that has not taken life. Natsu and his team, Atlas, Rose, and Jess, have killed people before and that will not change. Whether they were dark mages or light mages, a life was still taken, something that wasn't really brought up in the manga or anime. **

**I find it hard, for every opponent you face, for you to end up sparing them, knowing what they've done. Natsu and the rest are willing to bloody their hands further to rid the world of filth that they don't think should be allowed to walk anymore with other people, so in upcoming chapters, Natsu –will- be taking lives. I won't be making it very graphic, since that would make me push this story up to M, and I really don't think it will get that far.**

**There will be a lot of implied things in the story, that I will leave up to the imagination of the reader, since telling you everything is kind of boring. I want to make this into a type of interactive story that forces you to do more than just read something off a screen, use some of that brain! **

**To address some concerns I am sure will come up eventually, Natsu is extremely overpowered at this point in the story for a reason. It's because no one he's faced, bar Jose and Odin, have really been that big of a threat to him. Erza will always remain as the ultimate fight, and they –will- have their end bout eventually, since fighting is what drew them so close to begin with. Now, to highlight some news though, I want to clarify my own views on some of this stuff. **

**Jose shouldn't have been a Saint in my opinion….really, he was finished off with one spell and all he kept shouting was his shade magic and his 'Dead-wave' spells. While I know at this point in the story, when a Saint fights it is usually rather simple, my definition of a Saint is someone much stronger than this. I will be adjusting the story to meet these standards, so other characters will be much stronger as well to compensate for Natsu's power.**

**Jellal, Hades, Zero, Bluenote, etc. While Natsu will not be fighting all of these people, they will all get their own power boosts in their own way to make sure they can keep up in the story. One more thing, Natsu will –not- win all of his fights, everyone loses eventually and that is a fact. **

**As another little spoiler….you'll be seeing Natsu's first real loss in upcoming chapters when Natsu has some downtime from being forced to recover. You'll notice I…twisted the story to my liking, like all fanfictions should. While following the main plot isn't bad, I'm not sticking entirely too it. I'm going to branch into unfamiliar territory as I've stated before and make my own roads for them to travel on.**

**Last thing….Natsu actually knows who Zeref is and has met him once in his past. That is the final spoiler. *Cackle***

**UP NEXT:**

'**Rampage and Sorrow of the Dragons'**


	13. The Rampage!

_Last Time:_

_Snatching her head around, she closed her eyes as she opened them wide. Something was very wrong now, she should have felt the buildup of magic, yet it was so sudden that it was shocking. 'Three…no, four. Four magical spikes, one stronger than the rest, so that has to be Salamander. Are they using their 'Drives?' This could turn bad….' Just as she summoned her orb and was about to disappear, a voice came from the smoke of the carriage, something so deep and terrible, it chilled her to the bone._

_"_**_Dragons…..do not like to be chained. I think you all need to be reminded….of who we are. Now, shall we play, little Knights? Come….let us see if you can slay the dragons."_**

_Present:_

Erza froze at the tone in which the voice came out, it sounded nothing like she remembered it, nothing like how she remembered Natsu speaking. If that wasn't enough, it didn't take another three seconds until all hell broke loose around them, bringing the cries of panic to even more frantic levels this time. A sudden shockwave made the S-class mage plant her feet into the ground and raise her arms to protect her face from the wind, allowing a small gap between her arms to see what caused it.

Her mouth dropped open as a tornado suddenly appeared not a hundred yards from her, uprooting several carriages, tents, horses, and Rune Knights. Each and every single one of them had looks of disbelief and fear on their faces as they were sucked up and whipped around like pieces of paper caught in a storm. The next thing to catch her attention was the ground suddenly rumbling, fissures and spikes of earth appearing everywhere in front of her in the encampment of the Rune Knights, yet none of it making its way to the Fairy Tail building. From the fissures that had spread all the way to the ocean, water appeared in torrents, blasting away any Rune Knights that have come close.

None of this truly scared her, impressed her, yes, but it did not scare her. What scared her was the explosions of flames occurring on the far end of the encampment, near where the carriage that was supposed to be holding Natsu and his friends were. She assumed they had somehow escaped their bonds and were making the Rune Knights pay for what they've done, if that dark remark earlier meant anything. Equipping into her '**Flight Armor'**, Erza allowed the wind currents to help carry and propel her forward to the explosions. She danced around the earth spikes appearing, slicing a few in the process, as well as the torrents of water.

Right as she landed, she shot her hand up to hold her mouth as she bit back the need to vomit. The smell of charred flesh filled the air in such strong amounts that it seemed like thousands of people were being burned alive right under her nose. Sudden explosions off to her right caught her attention as a feminine figure suddenly shot past her, quickly followed by another one. If the flash of the skimpy clothing and the wind currents were any indication, that was probably Jess chasing Ultear….wait. 'Ultear is here?! Why the hell is she here?!'

Those thoughts plagued her mind right as she glanced back to the explosions, letting the two other women settle whatever grudge they had against one another. The only thing that really mattered to her right now was finding Natsu, and based on some of the unresponsive bodies around her, she assumed she would not like what she saw. Letting her Flight Armor disappear back into its pocket dimension, she started running forward, following the burned bodies and still blazing fires around here. If one looked at this from an aerial view or from a distance, they would likely assume the world was ending.

"NATSU!" She called out as she ran around, moving past scrambling Rune Knights who went in whatever direction they seemed the threat to be coming from. The only response she got in return was a torrent of flame heading towards her as she grit her teeth. Equipping into her '**Flame Empress'** armor, she cut the flames in half and absorbed them into her sword. She decided to stay in this set of armor, in case any other attacks happened to come her way. It only took her half a minute and turning around a corner of tents that she stopped, having found what she was looking for and something she wasn't hoping to see at the same time.

Natsu was holding the Captain of the Rune Knights by his face, the man clinging onto Natsu's arm to try and get him to let go. How Natsu managed to find the Captain was beyond her, he likely went hunting for the man, but what mattered now were the flames creeping up his arms towards the head of the Captain. "Natsu, stop!" She took a step forward until a dry 'crunching' sound filled her ears. Glancing down, she had to hold her mouth again, as she had just stepped through a very charred and very dead man's arm. His entire body seemed so brittle as the rest started turning to ash.

'This….this isn't Natsu…he wouldn't do this.' She tried to convince herself as she looked around, noticing just how many bodies were around her. Each and every one of them were in the middle of painful screams judging by the positions of their mouths. She witnessed one such scream as the Captain was suddenly engulfed in flames, his cries seeming to spread through the camp as Natsu had the most cruel smirk displayed on his face. 'N-no….he isn't….he wouldn't…' her thoughts trailed off as she finally remembered who he was and what he has done before. 'This isn't Natsu….this is the Salamander, the one that destroys what he hates.'

Gritting her teeth, she shot forward and planted a kick in the side of Natsu's face, blasting him away and forcing him to drop the captain as she swiped her sword in front of the Captain, sealing the flames from his body. Said man was badly burned but alive, albeit barely from the state of his clothing and skin. The hairs raised on the back of her neck as she brought her sword up, blocking a flame enhanced punch from Natsu who appeared once more, an insanely dark smirk plastered on his face now.

With the sword in front of her face, it blocked Natsu's view of who he was currently attacking. Bracing her shoulder under the length of the blade, she caught Natsu's full body with the width of the sword, slamming him into the ground as she flipped it over her shoulder. Jumping back, she had tears in her eyes as she realized that Natsu didn't hesitated to attack her and she was forced into a difficult pinch, either fight him and defeat him so he calmed down or wait until he regained his senses. She saw the look on his face, he was stuck in a state of bloodthirst, it would already be difficult to recognize her as she experienced the same problem a few times with others, so she had little hope of Natsu regaining his senses any time soon.

**_Elemental Dragon's POV:_**

Jess was grinning as she immediately started off with one of her most high-class abilities, mainly for it to be her own distraction for her to find a certain black-haired bitch. **"Air Dragon's Cyclone!" **She bent her arms at the elbow and gathered wind currents around the length of her forearms, suddenly twisting around rapidly as she was in the center of her own tornado. Channeling more magic into the attack, she let it sustain itself as she jumped out of the ripping currents of wind. It would last for a few minutes, enough time for her to go and find her prey, someone she needed to make sure felt a bit of pain before the day was over.

Somewhere off to her left, Atlas clapped his hands together, runes appearing all around him as they slowly condensed into the palms of both hands. Clapping them down onto the ground in front of him, he pressed his fingers into the ground further, getting a good grip into the earth. **"Earth-Dragon's Impaling Spikes!"** Jerking his hands apart, he continued with his next spell. **"Earth-Dragon's Great Fissure!" **He tore a small fissure into the ground with his bare hands as everything started shaking, larger fissures appearing all around him and at the edge of the cliff, allowing Rose to use her own spells.

Coating his body in plates of hardened earth, he jumped forward into the encampment, moving around pillars of earth as he started his own path of destruction through the Rune Knights. Not too far off, a group of Rune Knights, having noticed the sudden appearance of Rose and feeling the other attacks, decided to attack instead of waiting for Rose's spells. A fissure suddenly appeared between them and the Dragon-Slayer who now had a dark grin on her face. Barely raising her voice, just enough to be heard, she winked at the men who all suddenly started backtracking. "**Water-Dragon's Torrents." **

"Aaaaahhhh!" Was the common scream as torrents of water appeared from the fissures that connected to the ocean, washing them away back into their ruined camp for the other fissures and the tornado she knew Jess made to handle them. She kept this one spell up, as it was all she needed for the time being as torrents kept rising out of the several fissures around her, smacking away any who got close to her or ones she had decided to pick out. A frown adorned her face as she felt some of her torrents being destroyed, moving her gaze up to notice a familiar scarlet-haired mage flying towards Natsu's direction.

'She isn't going to like what she sees….but if she does care for him, she'll have to realize what he is. I can only trust that it doesn't get out of hand.' She thought, unknown to her that Jess and Atlas, having noticed the familiar blur as well, thought those exact same words. All of them had frowns on their faces as they realized what Natsu might do, yet they hoped he wouldn't be so far gone at this point that he could still recognize who Erza Scarlet was.

One of these frowns disappeared as someone caught sight of a stunned Ultear, blades of air appearing on her arms as she slashed it forward. **"Air-Dragon's Slash!" **The announcement of the spell alerted Ultear to who was attacking her as she quickly jumped up into the air, avoiding the strike, yet the woman cursed herself for her mistake. She had just entered her enemies domain, and the concentration of magic appearing above her made her brace herself as Jess appeared in the sky. **"Air-Dragon's Pressure Strike." **

A crater appeared below Ultear as she was forced down, coughing a bit of spit out as she suddenly twisted out of the way as a kick cracked the ground from where she landed. Keeping the momentum from her roll, she gained a bit of distance as she growled, several orbs appearing around her. Each one hurled forward, intent on turning Jess into a beat-up doll, yet it was not meant to be. Jess disappeared into thin air, suddenly appearing in front of Ultear, a hand placed on the woman's stomach with an innocent grin visible. Such made Ultear look down at the rune appearing on her stomach. **"Air-Dragon's Pressure Strike." **

Ultear was hurled through the air, crashing through several tents and passing a flash of red hair, but what caught her attention was Jess who was following after her. The strike itself wasn't that powerful, due to it having no build-up, but it did force her out of the encampment and away from any support she might get from the Rune Knights.

**_Back to Erza and Natsu:_**

Erza brought her sword up again, blocking another strike and shifting her weight on her feet to push Natsu back once again. She was breathing heavily at this point, yet she showed no signs of backing down to Natsu who was currently trying to roast her alive. At this point in the battle, she knew that Natsu was not in control of his actions based on the change in his eyes, his attacks, and the fact he has not said a single word during their exchanges, something entirely unlike him to her knowledge. This entire fight so far was just Natsu enhancing his own attacks with his elements and not using any of his signature attacks, something Erza copied.

Both were simply trying to overwhelm the other with strength, yet Erza knew something, she was losing. She had put away her fear of what Natsu had become and replaced it with the need to save her own life and bring back someone she cared for, who was the same person trying to currently take her life. As ironic as the situation was, she couldn't let herself be distracted before a wave of fire erupted from Natsu, following him as he kicked at her head, only to feint with it and plant a punch into her stomach.

Coughing up a bit of spit, Erza was hurled back into a tent as she quickly stood up again, but not without a very noticeable dent in her armor. 'To think….there is such a change between the Natsu I know and the Salamander….even though they are the same person.' She slashed her sword at Natsu who jumped at her, nicking his cheek and drawing a little blood. "Natsu, wake up you idiot! It's me! Erza!" She had tried calling out like this several times since they started several minutes ago, yet the only response she got was another attack that could cave her head in.

She was slowly losing ground during this entire fight, because she knew when it came to brute strength that Natsu out-classed her. Making up for this in speed, it wasn't enough as she was holding back from trying to deal any real damage to his already hurt body, unlike him who was trying to kill her. 'I have to think of a way to handle this….he doesn't respond to me calling for him. He isn't getting any calmer, if anything, because I'm fighting back he is starting to get more wild!' Biting her lip, she kept cursing herself mentally as she came up blank with any solution to fix the situation she was in. A few stray thoughts went into actually trying to kill him to save herself, but she banished that as she ducked another punch aimed at her head.

'No…this is still Natsu, so he must still be in that thick and stupid head of his!' She reminded herself as she slammed the flat of her blade into Natsu's chest, knocking him back. His attacks were sloppy and easily read, likely because his mind was somewhere else or he didn't have one right now. Yet for how sloppy they were, each one had enough power to end this fight if they made a clean hit, something that Erza had noticed when he smashed through a solid steel chest-plate of a stray Rune Knight that got too close to try and help her. Said man turned to ashes seconds later while he screamed for mercy.

One thought made its way to her though that seemed to have some merit. 'He's acting on instinct…instinct demands to protect what he cares for when it is hurt.' Gritting her teeth, she dodged back a roundhouse kick and instead responded with one of her one that was blocked. Widening her eyes as her leg was grabbed, she braced herself as she was slammed into the ground, a crater appearing under her. Coughing up blood, she sliced his arm to get her to let her go.

It wasn't deep, but enough to make him loosen his grip for her to slip her leg out of his grasp. Wiping the blood away, she saw a moment of hesitation on Natsu's face at the sight of the blood on her face as he sniffed the air. Blinking once, Erza watched as the hesitation disappeared a few seconds later as the blood dried itself from the heat around her. 'Was he…? …I see, so I really do have to take my chances.' She knew that Natsu would not forgive himself for this, nor would she let him forget about it.

Gaining a grim smile, she watched Natsu charge up another attack that was aimed directly for her chest. Instead of blocking, dodging, or retaliating, she simply closed her eyes. Right as Natsu's fist made contact with her, the entire area turned into a massive explosion of flames, the view of Natsu's fist slamming into Erza and the sound of metal tearing through the air was the last thing a short, old man noticed.

**_Makarov's POV:_**

This entire situation was a mess, and not just because of the amount of money he would have to spend to fix the amount of damage around here, but because that his friend's guild members were currently taking on several hundred Rune Knights and making them into even more wanted criminals. Groaning, he sat atop of one of the pillars of his ruined guild hall, watching the attacks go around and several Rune Knights thrown about like toys. As far as he noticed, none of the attacks were too violent or crippling for these Rune Knights, so he wouldn't feel too bad about some of them ending up in the hospital for a few days….or weeks….or months.

True, he didn't like what was happening, but even he felt that what was going on was somewhat deserved. The Council send a unit to arrest his guild and the very people who helped destroy Phantom Lord. If that wasn't a spit in the face of the name of justice, he really couldn't think of anything else that would come close to that. He had watched Erza run out into the encampment, likely to go find the pink-haired brat she took an interest in, much to Makarov's amusement. 'Ah…young love. Such a wonderful thing.' He thought with a perverted grin.

Yet, no matter how much he thought of this little show, he couldn't help but have something in the back of his mind telling him that something was going to go wrong. Several explosions on the other end of the camp alerted him to where Natsu Dragneel was likely going rampant, doing who knows what. That made him frown, he knew that something was happening over there he really did not approve of. Sighing a bit, he could only imagine what the young man was doing, since Makarov knew that the boy had no real issue with killing those whom stood in his way or were evil in his eyes.

A sudden blur of pink and red made the old man's eyes widen as he narrowed them to get a better look. The same blur passed by again, yet he caught the faces of Erza and Natsu, locked in a very violent and desperate fight against one another. From one glance, Makarov knew what was happening there. 'The brat lost himself to his bloodlust….and it seems Erza is trying to get him back. I guess I'll go make sure this doesn't get out of hand, I don't need the entire town leveled.' Even though he knew of Natsu's strength, he had no doubt that Erza was just as capable, if not slightly more so, than the Dragon-Slayer.

Jumping down from his perch, he started walking along the tents, following the burnt trail of destruction and the fires still flickering around him. Upon one sight, he frowned as he noted a chest-plate with a fist sized hole through the middle, the center slightly melted. He could guess what happened to the man, if the pile of ashes around the armor was any indication. Hurrying his pace a bit, that bad feeling that was in the back of his mind kept growing the closer he got to the sounds of battle. Turning around one tent, he froze as he saw Erza standing defenseless right as Natsu's fist made contact with her armor and they disappeared in a torrent of fire.

**_Natsu's POV:_**

Punch. Kick. Dodge. Punch. Punch. Kick. This is all that went through his mind as he fought the blurred shape of his opponent in front of him. Whoever this was, he had to admit they were good to keep on such even terms with him. He would have thought it was one of his siblings, yet he would remember their magic from having trained with them for so many years. Natsu didn't care though, he was having the time of his life fighting like this, nothing to stop him or possibly trouble him.

Catching a kick that was aimed at his head, he grinned as he slammed the figure of his opponent down into the ground and watched as they backed away from him. That's when he suddenly stopped as something felt wrong, causing him to sniff the air around him. 'This smell….it's so familiar…blood? Where do I know this scent from?' The scent suddenly disappeared, swallowed by the flames around him as he shook his head. 'Ah, who cares, all I want is for them to pay! Chaining me up like a slave, I'll show them who is in control of who!' Cancelling his thoughts, he went back to charging his fists with flames once more.

Charging forward with a grin on his face, he shot his fist forward, waiting for his opponent to try and defend themselves. He frowned as the closer he got, he noticed the figure not doing anything. 'He'll die if he takes this attack…why won't he move? Does he think my attack is weak? I'll show him weak!' He growled as he slammed his fist forward even harder.

In the next moment, his fist met something hard, pushing further, it soon met flesh as the smell of blood and sizzling skin met his nose. This all happened right as the explosion encircled them both, blocking the view of anyone who came near him and even his own view from the brightness and intensity of his flames. All he registered was someone shouting from behind him right at the moment of contact, such a familiar voice…it sounded like Jess if he could think about it. "Natsu, stop!"

**_Elemental Dragon's POV:_**

Rose and Atlas were running through the ruined camp, panting a bit as they passed knocked out Rune Knights and burning fires. A bad feeling crept into the back of their heads the moment the attacks from Natsu started getting more intense, meaning he was actually fighting someone instead of going on a rampage. They both had an idea of who it was and they hoped to anything that it wasn't turning out like they thought. Both of them knew of a way to stop Natsu, yet the act of it would likely end up with someone dying. Passing piles of ash and burnt corpses, they felt the flames becoming more intense, all the while Atlas was cursing himself.

'Shit shit! I'm a damn moron! He would have recovered on the way to the jail, I knew he would have! I pushed him to get us out sooner and Scarlet might die for it, he'll never forgive me, much less himself if she does!' Atlas was running as fast as he could, slightly in front of Rose as they traveled to the explosions of flames. Rose was having similar thoughts, but she was more cursing herself for allowing Atlas to give such a suggestion. Each of them were caught up in the moment of being able to get revenge on the Rune Knights that they didn't remember what guild they were next to.

Natsu was one problem, but another was their own Master who would likely kick them out of the guild if someone from Fairy Tail ended up dead because of a stupid choice on their parts. That was if Natsu didn't leave of his own accord after he would be recovered from what he was doing. The Fire Dragon-Slayer was already hurt from all of his battles, now he was in another one, but this time it wouldn't be a physical wound, but a mental one.

This only caused them to pick up their speed as they passed several craters with spiral-like impacts in them and several instances of seemingly frozen in time objects around them. Earth was crumpled like it was wasting away and trees seemed to have rotted at the base or new ones that weren't there before suddenly having sprouted from somewhere. Passing another crater, they saw Jess surrounded by chunks of ice and heavily breathing.

Noticing them, Jess sprinted to them as they stopped for a moment. "Where's the skimpy bitch?" Rose asked to Jess who frowned in response. "She got away...teleported right as she froze me in a block of ice. If I wasn't in my Drive, I would be dead right now….didn't even know she could use Ice magic." They all frowned a bit at the new information and the fact it made her an even scarier future opponent. "You're going to stop Natsu, right?" Rose and Atlas nodded a bit as Jess frowned further. "Let's hurry….i'll plant some enhancements to pick up our speed, we need to stop him."

They all suddenly started glowing, not even saying another word as they were sprinting nearly three times as fast to the explosion. Right as they turned a corner, Atlas and Rose noticed Makarov just appeared as Jess suddenly screamed out. "Natsu, stop!" Jerking their heads to who she was talking to, Atlas and Rose watched in horror as Natsu hit Erza, the two of them suddenly vanishing in a pillar of fire.

**_General POV:_**

As the pillar of flame disappeared, all that was left was Natsu standing above the downed figure of Erza Scarlet. His fist was covered in blood and his knuckles were cut from the steel, fire licking around them that quickly dispersed. One thing ruined the entire picture though, the look of horror on the face of the Fire Dragon-Slayer at what he was seeing in front of him. On the ground under him was Erza Scarlet, a hole in her chest-plate with the impression of his fist easily seen on her chest. There were burned scars there, showing where his knuckles had made contact as he instantly fell down to check on her.

He turned his head quickly, begging himself to hear any sign of her heartbeat or a breath of air escaping her mouth. Swiping his hand, all the flames in the area instantly died out as he ripped her chest armor off, exposing a burned shirt under her. Natsu didn't bother to do anything other than place his hand over the burn, dragging the traces of his magic out of the flesh, all while still waiting for that one sound he was hoping would come.

'Thump'. A sob choked him as he heard the heartbeat, all the tension in his body falling away as he let a few tears fall from his face. 'Oh god…oh god….I-I almost killed her!' He drew the last traces of his magic out of her as he raised his hand to her face to touch her cheek. This would have happened if a voice hadn't shouted out. "Get your hands off her you bastard!" A giant fist slammed into his entire body, knocking him a good distance away. Instantly, flames licked at his body again as he snarled at the now giant form of Makarov Dreyar, standing between him and Erza.

"Out of my way Gramps! I need to make sure she's alright! Move or I'll make you!" His fists lit on fire as he started charging forward, until Jess, Atlas, and Rose suddenly grabbed him and held him in place. "You nearly killed her, Dragneel! Come near her again and I'll make sure I'll kill you myself!" The giant of a man roared out, his eyes turning white with the concentration of magic in the air. Struggling to go forward still, Natsu fought with tears in his eyes as he tried to escape the grip of the other three.

He was too weak right now to go against their strength, too tired, too hurt. Natsu had almost killed the person he admitted to not even an hour ago to loving, all because he couldn't be strong enough to control himself. 'Damnit damnit damnit! This….this is my fault!' He kept screaming internally as he slowed down his struggles. "Let me go….i'm going to see her." He spoke out quietly to the other three. They all exchanged glances to one another before Atlas shook his head. "If you go over there, he'll kill you. She's alive, leave it at that, Natsu. If we stay here too long, reinforcements will arrive and we won't be able to escape. I know you're hurting, but-" Atlas was speaking before he was interrupted.

"I don't care! Let! Me! Go!" He shouted as he twisted and urged the last of his strength forward, ripping away from them. Instantly running to Erza, he froze as he saw one of her eyes opened and facing him. That was all it took, the emotion in that one eye to make him stop. Clenching his fists, he instantly turned away, walking away as Makarov shrunk down, keeping a firm glare on the retreating figure of Natsu Dragneel. "You may never come near her again….if you do, I promise you will regret it."

Jess turned to the man and frowned slightly. "Scarlet made her choice to get involved and she paid for it-" Natsu grabbed her by the throat, tightening it slightly before he let it go, mainly because of Atlas who snatched his arm away. "Enough….we're leaving." The pink haired man grumbled out as he walked away. The three glanced between him and the downed figure of Erza Scarlet, also noticing the look in her eye. It was that of pure fear.

The thing that everyone missed was the outstretched arm of Erza Scarlet, reaching towards the retreating figure of Natsu Dragneel. From the attack, she could not speak, for how much pain and pressure was going through her body. Yes, in her eye was the look of fear, yet it was not the fear of a man who had nearly killed it, no. It was fear for the man that she was afraid would never come back, fear for the man that she loved would think she no longer loved him. As her eyes darkened and her arm fell to the ground, the last view she saw was the traces of tears falling from the downcast head of a certain Pink-haired dragon-slayer.

Said man had an emotionless mask on his face as he led the group of his siblings away from the camp, tears silently falling from his eyes. He dared not look back, less he be reminded of the fear that was in her eye. Natsu Dragneel had almost killed a person he loved, simply because he listened to his friends and his own need for revenge and to escape. Walking through the ruined camp and towards the woods, he fell down and hit the dirt as they were out of sight. Yells of shock from his friends reached his ears, but all he saw before he passed out was the barely breathing, nearly dead body of the woman he loved, his fist covered in her blood with a hole nearly through her chest.

'Ah….how could I ever forget….nothing good lasts forever. I suppose….that I don't deserve a happy life around her. Guess I won't be seeing her ever again….i'm a damned idiot. It hurts….seeing her scared. So much….I guess this is payment for my sins.' He gave a small, mentally dry, pained chuckle as his eyes rolled up into his head, embracing the darkness of his mind.


	14. Is all well?

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, sorry it's been a while since I updated, I've just been really enjoying my summer with my family and everyone else. Granted, I did put off updating this story for a bit longer than I intended, but I'm back and giving all of you a fresh, new chapter! So let's cut out the unnecessary chit-chat and dive right back into the story, hmm? **

_**Last Time:**_

_The thing that everyone missed was the outstretched arm of Erza Scarlet, reaching towards the retreating figure of Natsu Dragneel. From the attack, she could not speak, for how much pain and pressure was going through her body. Yes, in her eye was the look of fear, yet it was not the fear of a man who had nearly killed it, no. It was fear for the man that she was afraid would never come back, fear for the man that she loved would think she no longer loved him. As her eyes darkened and her arm fell to the ground, the last view she saw was the traces of tears falling from the downcast head of a certain Pink-haired dragon-slayer._

_Said man had an emotionless mask on his face as he led the group of his siblings away from the camp, tears silently falling from his eyes. He dared not look back, less he be reminded of the fear that was in her eye. Natsu Dragneel had almost killed a person he loved, simply because he listened to his friends and his own need for revenge and to escape. Walking through the ruined camp and towards the woods, he fell down and hit the dirt as they were out of sight. Yells of shock from his friends reached his ears, but all he saw before he passed out was the barely breathing, nearly dead body of the woman he loved, his fist covered in her blood with a hole nearly through her chest._

_'Ah….how could I ever forget….nothing good lasts forever. I suppose….that I don't deserve a happy life around her. Guess I won't be seeing her ever again….i'm a damned idiot. It hurts….seeing her scared. So much….I guess this is payment for my sins.' He gave a small, mentally dry, pained chuckle as his eyes rolled up into his head, embracing the darkness of his mind._

_**Now: Lycas's Office**_

Three people sat with their heads bowed in front of the man behind the desk, each one of them looking very depressed and sad, all besides the aging old man who had a look of restrained anger on his face. "Let me get all of this straight…." The aged voiced of Master Lycus caused Atlas, Jess, and Rose to raise their heads to look at their Master. "Jose tried tricking us…hired Dawn's Roar, a mercenary guild, but you four won that battle. Correct?" Three nods allowed him to continue, the skin on his face tightening. "However….you were weakened enough to be captured by the Rune Knights….Ultear, one of the Kin, tried offering you positions in their guild….yes?"

Another round of nods came from the three, as Lycas's eyes narrowed. "Natsu had to use 'it' to defeat this…Odin as well as Jose. All of you know what happens when he uses that power!" He shouted the last part, making the three of them flinch. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple to try and calm himself down somewhat. It wasn't working very well. "So he isn't even fully recovered, you tell him to use it again to escape, and to make the story short, Erza Scarlet almost died, and now Makarov is furious with Natsu and will likely kill him on sight." The last round of nods came.

"I assume the three of you know that Natsu's condition is all on your heads, right?" Each of them flinched at that, remembering Natsu who was currently in the medical wing of the building, in a not so favorable condition. However, Atlas more than anyone else felt responsible, for it was his idea to use it to begin with. He took the time to speak, looking up at his Master. "Master… I take full responsibility for it…since it was my idea. However, we couldn't be sure that something else was going to come up, so looking at it, what else could we really have done when the chance was right there, granted it didn't go as planned?" Atlas asked quietly.

"That's the thing that infuriates me the most, Atlas! It was the only way for the four of you to escape, yet it was the most terrible of all choices to begin with!" Lycas shouted, keeping himself in his chair, even with the urge to stand up. Clasping his hands together, the Master slowly looked at each of them, noting the different states of injuries on their bodies that were in the early stages of fully healing. Luckily none of them were too injured, Natsu being the only person who was in any type of real danger, physically and mentally.

Shaking his head, he sighed once more. "Alright….we'll discuss what punishments to deal with you four later. They will be light." He added the last bit to cut off the three who would have tried to protest. "Considering you had no other options…but because of it Fairy Tail isn't exactly fond of us at the moment, I imagine. We got what we needed from the entire ordeal, so I suppose not all of this is bad. Go get some rest, I have the medical staff treating Natsu, so you three will have to heal naturally."

"Yes, Master." They spoke in unison, standing as they left the room. Right as the door closed, Lycas frowned to himself. He hated being harsh to the people he looked at as his children in the guild, but sometimes things needed to be done for the better of everyone else. His main concerns currently rested with Natsu, who was in a deep magic deprived state when he was carried in by the other three Elemental Dragons. Each of them were bombarded with questions as to who could do such damage to Natsu, yet he had them go back to what they were doing, after making sure Natsu wasn't in any specific danger of dying at the moment.

The boy was barely breathing when they brought him to the medical room, his magic container drained almost entirely, a death sentence for any mage. Not to mention, that the doctor's told him that his magical channels were damaged even further by using his power, so he was out of commission for some time. Lycas cursed to himself, losing your top mage to injury leaves your guild as basically an open target for competition. '_The other three need to be prepared….with Natsu down, people will get bold when acting against us, especially the Balam Alliance. Tch, it seems I'll have to teach them how to channel their 'Drives' better. Natsu…..wake up soon, I know you aren't finished with this battle just yet, are you?' _Lycas knew that Natsu's current state, which was basically a coma for all intent and purposes, was mostly self-induced to keep himself from giving into the grief of losing his chance at having something personal to him.

Closing his eyes, he glanced at the large assortment of crates in his office, the cargo that was transported from the Phantom Lord guild before it was destroyed. Looking back on it, all of it was just a bit cluster, sure they eliminated a Light Guild, in its name only, but it drew unwanted attention to them. Grimacing, he imagined the Council was speaking about them at this very moment.

_**Era: Council Meeting**_

"They need to be dealt with immediately!" One of the shadowed figures roared out, having just finished looking over the reports that was handed to the council about the incident with Fairy Tail, Phantom Lord, and Reaper's Scythe. No one bar Jose really knew of Dawn's Roar, and the man wasn't in the right mind to tell them anything, so the mercenary guild was not being discussed. "Out of nearly the four hundred Rune Knight's we put there, one hundred and fifty-four are dead, two hundred and three wounded, and the rest are basically mentally unable to continue their duties!"

The entire event was well known in the world of Magic by this point, even the council being unable to hide such a large catastrophe to their own forces. Another figure, this time a woman, leaned forward and spoke. "We lost a Wizard Saint as well, Org. This makes two that this 'Salamander' has defeated. They can no longer be ignored….we need to send someone to handle them, immediately. If the reports are accurate, Natsu Dragneel will be unable to fight from the wounds he suffered in his battle with Jose, the Rune Knights, and Erza Scarlet."

A murmur of agreement came from several others in the room, however three people seemed against the idea as they decided to speak in turn, the first of course being Yajima. "Now….why would you think this is needed? They destroyed a corrupt guild, and this Natsu defeated two corrupt Wizard Saints. Yes, he has done some damage…however, hasn't be benefitted us in the long run?" He reasoned, extending his hand for emphasis on his speaking.

Siegran decided to speak up next, sitting a bit straighter, which was odd from the normally relaxed individual. "Do not forget that he is also responsible for the defeat of Deloria, along with the rest of his 'Elemental Dragons'. We would have spent many more men to combat these threats than just a couple hundred Rune Knights….they are still useful in cleaning up some Dark Guilds, it is well known that they aren't favored by the Balam Alliance…." He let that sink in for a moment, gaining a smirk as he noticed the lack of argument from the other members in the council.

Finally, one of the people who was unexpected decided to voice his opinion, a small man named Mikero, who oddly enough had his hair shaped like cat ears. "As….odd as it is for me to agree with them…we can't argue that they are exactly incorrect. If anything, it is well known that Reaper's Scythe can handle their own in a battle…why not let the two sides tire each other out, then we strike? As much as I hate to say it….we could use them." Many of the other members in the chamber looked at the man in shock, even Siegran raised a brow at it. Looking around, he noticed Ultear with an absent look on her face. '_She isn't even here…I'll have to find out what is bothering her later…normally she'd be in favor with me.'_

He narrowed his eyes slightly at the woman before settling back on his smirk as he looked around the table. "Let us table this discussion for another time…we need to recover our lost resources anyways, as well as focus on weeding out anymore corrupt guilds." This brought several of the other members out of their shock, draining a relieved sigh from Ultear, whom he'd question later. The largest shadow around the table nodded as he spoke out in a normal, passive voice. "Agreed….we need to move onto the issue of the vacant Wizard Saint title, as well as how to handle Fairy Tail." Another important topic, this drawing everyone's attention now, handing out a Wizard Saint title wasn't so easy.

"I move that we make a decision on Fairy Tail first." Yajima interjected, earning a nod from the rest. It was best to handle the simpler matter first in this scenario, so more of their time could be put onto focus on the vacant title. "Due to their help in stopping Phantom Lord, cooperating with the investigation, as well as Makarov attacking Natsu Dragneel with Erza Scarlet being hurt, I say we drop all charges against them." Some grumbling was the argument that came from the rest. They couldn't exactly punish a guild that had 'assisted' the Rune Knights and was more or less a model Light Guild for defeating a corrupt one.

"Agreed." The large shadow spoke for the rest of the council, no one openly declining this decision. "Well…that was simple." Siegran spoke out plainly, he had no issue with it at all, considering he had his own plans concerning that guild, so he needed them to be active and out of trouble, so this made everything easier. "They suffered from this as well, so there is no reason to punish them for it." Ultear added in, seeming to favor using her right side to lean her weight on. If one would look close enough, a bruise the size of a fist could be seen on her left ribcage.

The atmosphere in the room shifted to a much more collected one at this point, each of them having their own people in mind as to who to nominate for the open position. "As I'm sure all of you are aware…" The large shadow began. "At least five votes are needed for someone to be elected to be a Wizard Saint. They also had to have proved their strength multiple times and are willing to obey certain rules and do….'special' jobs." He finished, leaning back a little bit. "The floor is open."

"Risen Sparks, the Lightning mage is a good bet. He's taken ten S-class jobs and has a perfect completion record. If I remember correctly, he goes by the alias of 'Odin'." One of the members spoke, drawing a few murmurs as to the Lightning mage that had a decent reputation to him. Siegran shook his head. "He's assisted in open attacks on the Council a few times…in some ways, he's worse than 'Salamander'. Don't forget he used to be a Dark Guild leader into he 'reformed' himself." This crushed any chance that the man would be given the title as they moved onto the next one.

"What of that boy from Fairy Tail, Laxus Dreyar? He's another Lightning mage, a very skilled one as well. If not him, Gildarts Clive is actually able to be on par with the fifth or sixth Wizard Saints." Mikero spoke up, drawing a glare or two on how lenient he was being to Fairy Tail. "Refused on both accounts." The large shadow spoke, shaking his head. "Laxus Dreyar is driven by power, much like Jose, from the reports we get. Gildarts Clive would be possible, but from our reports, he has yet to return from his 100-year quest."

Everyone in the room seemed quiet for a few moments until Siegran spoke up, leaning forward so everyone could hear him quite clearly. "We need something different….a new wind of change. We can't keep repeating the same process of electing people strictly from Light Guilds. I suggest someone from a neutral guild, someone who can get respect for his achievements, but is also feared enough that no one would openly question him." Ultear knew immediately who this was leaning towards, yet she didn't speak up just yet. "Risen Spark's fit that category, mostly, but I have someone better in mind, and each of you know him." A few moments passed until he gave the name.

"Natsu Dragneel."

_**Fairy Tail: Medical Room**_

Erza flinched as she touched the bandages around her chest, leaning back in the bed as she tried moving around just slightly. It was a full day since the battle, well if one looked at it another way it was a slaughter, and she was in no danger of dying, but that didn't spare her the pain. A full report on her came that four of her ribs were cracked, the nerves around her upper chest were burned pretty badly, on top of her injuries from Jose which was a fractured shoulder-blade and a concussion. All in all, she was in no physical shape to do anything right now, much to her chagrin, but that didn't stop her.

Sliding on the chest-plate to her Heart Krux armor, she held in a grunt from the pressure it put on her chest. She slowly started to get the rest of her armor on, until a voice from the door stopped her. "Where do you think you are going, Erza?" Makarov looked at her with an impassive gaze, face slightly flushed as he took another sip from his mug, the first stages of being drunk. Hardening her gaze for just a second, she responded. "I'm going to go home and rest, Master."

Right as she finished, she started walking, keeping an emotionless expression no matter how much she wanted to shout or scream in pain for what she was feeling. Right as she was about to pass him, his staff crossed in front of her, stopping her. "You aren't going to see that boy, Erza." He spoke casually, taking another sip from his mug. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Master." Was the curt response. As she tried moving past the staff, it extended a bit longer, fully blocking the door now. "Erza….that's an order." His voice became a bit more stern, in turn making Erza glare a bit.

"I need to fix this, Master. You have no right to stop me!" She ground out, angered that her master would stop her from going to see the person who not only saved her life, but was wrongfully accused with to begin with. She held no anger towards him for the wound he gave her, she accepted it, as long as he regained his senses. "The brat nearly killed one of my children, I have every right to do as I please to ensure their safety." Makarov responded, gazing directly up at her with a serious expression.

"I will not let you go there and risk being killed again, what you did was foolish, but he should of known what he was doing." He explained, softening his gaze just a little to try and get her to understand his reasoning. "Besides, even if I did allow you to go, you'd be making his condition worse, you know." He walked past her as she made a noise of surprise. "W-what do you mean?" She questioned, her current shock at that statement driving any pain her body was telling her she felt out of her mind. "How would you feel if the person you loved was nearly killed by your own hand, because you couldn't control yourself, and they came back and try to take responsibility for it?"

Not sure how to respond, she continued to let him speak. "It would make them feel more guilty than they already were. As much as I…dislike him, at the moment for attacking you, I'm doing this for him too. Besides, from the way he looked, I highly doubt he's even awake at the moment. The amount of damage his body suffered would be enough to cripple several S-class mages." He concluded, hopping up on a chair and looking at her.

Erza frowned for a little bit, walking over and taking a seat on her bed. "….that doesn't change the fact I made the decision to do it." She responded, thinking over his words. Knowing Natsu, for however briefly she could talk with him, she knew that he was a very emotional person even if he hid it. She could almost see into his mind when they locked eyes when he left, almost feeling all the guilt, sadness, and disgust with himself for what he did. She was afraid he would never speak to her again, because he would never forgive himself.

"What….what should I do?" She asked softly, bowing her head a bit to mask her eyes with her hair. Makarov sighed just slightly as he hopped down. "First, you're going to get better. Then you are going to help us repair the guild and celebrate with us. After that, I'm sure if fate requires it, the two of you will meet again." He smiled at her as he walked to the door. "You need to know that some time is needed for all of this…not everything can be resolved right away. Besides, you forgot one detail in all of this." Blinking owlishly at him, she asked. "What is that, master?"

"Do you even know where their guild is?"

Silence.

_**Reaper's Scythe: Medical Room**_

On a bed that was separated from the others, Natsu Dragneel lay there, wrapped in bandages with several different salves, herbs, and medicines around him. His eyes were closed, his entire form relaxed, breathing evenly. A passive expression was on his face, but from the occasional twitch of his finger and movement under his eyelids, it was anything but a peaceful rest. The three people, the other 'Elemental Dragons' looked on with frowns as they sat at the end of the bed, looking at Natsu from their chairs.

Rose decided to speak up first, a tear running down her face. "…we did this." She spoke out sadly, Atlas resting a hand on her shoulder, well, mainly her entire arm from the size difference between the two of them. Shaking his head, he spoke out quietly to her. "No….I did. It was my idea, the two of you had nothing to do with it." This earned him a smack upside the back of his head by a frowning Jess. "Enough of the moping around, Natsu would hit the both of you into the floor if he saw you blaming yourselves for this." This earned a dry chuckle from the other two, Atlas after Rose as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Still though…." Jess glanced to Natsu, her expression softening slightly. "I can't remember the last time he was like this…helpless, injured, and in such pain." She didn't need to explain the two parts of that, Atlas and Rose having would have felt the same if either of them attacked the other with the intent to kill. "There was that time he came back from running into that black-haired man about four years ago…" Rose spoke up a bit as Atlas and Jess looked to her. "Mmm….the one who knew the Dark Arts?" Jess asked a bit, refreshing her memory slightly.

"Yeah…Natsu came back shaken up about it, but after he spoke with the Master, he seemed to go back to normal…I wonder what that was about." Atlas crossed his arms slightly, shrugging it off. "Whatever that was….he bounced back pretty fast…." The other two nodded in agreement, each of them immediately flicking their eyes to Natsu's hand that jerked suddenly. Rose seemed saddened by that, almost feeling what he was going through. "….another nightmare." She whispered softly. None of them exactly knew what he dreamt of, but they knew he had these quite a bit from the missions they went on. Whenever he was resting, he would have fits in his sleep and other signs of a nightmare.

Shaking her head, she gripped Atlas's hand, squeezing slightly as she felt the familiar pressure of it being returned, calming her somewhat. "Poor bastard….when was the last time he got some peaceful sleep?" Atlas murmured slightly, but they all easily heard him with their Dragon-Slayer hearing. "I want to know more of what could haunt him so bad that he's like this." Jess spoke up a bit as she seemed irritated, trying to figure out what could make the most terrifying of the Elemental Dragons to have nightmares of all things.

"Well, whatever it is, it'll only get worse with this incident with Erza Scarlet." A voice came from the door, a man of just under six foot walking in, wearing glasses and reading a book as he walked. He had blonde hair and had a decent physique, leaning more towards the lean side, nearing skinny. "Cole." The short reply came from each of them, though Jess spoke a bit more softly than the others. Cole was the only other S-class mage they had at Reaper's Scythe, though he was only around the strength of Rose, and was often out on missions, so he was easily missed. He was a high level user of sword magic, but overall had low magical reserves. "How's the idiot?" Cole spoke a bit, having heard of what happened from the rest of the Guild as he returned from a job.

"At the moment, we aren't too sure he'll even be able to return within the month." Atlas responded, returning his gaze to Natsu as his hand twitched again. "I see…..damn, this reminds me of the time he fought Master." Each of them cringed at that memory. The fight lasted all of two minutes before Master Lycas had crushed Natsu down with two spells, leaving him in a very similar state as to he was now. "The old man is a monster." Cole spoke, shivering slightly at that memory. The rest nodded in agreement as Natsu's sleeping form grunted, making all of them glance at him. "It's getting worse." Jess said, slightly saddened by the fact, cementing Cole's earlier claim.

_**Natsu's Nightmare:**_

_Torrents of black fire danced around the village as the screams of everyone present filled the air, slowly dwindling down over time as a roar shattered the night, so deep it seemed to shake the ground. Natsu was simply a spectator to all of this, viewing everything as different visions of headless corpses, mauled bodies and burning bones filled his vision. Each and every single one of them seemed to be in a first-person perspective, almost as if he was the one who had just killed them. Glancing around, tears streamed down his face as he remembered this nightmare, over and over it played again at times, getting worse with each repeat. _

_The first time this had come, it was when he was nearly nine, when he was still with Igneel, the dragon assuring him that the nightmare's would pass in time, yet the dragon had seemed worried at the time when he said it, like he knew something Natsu didn't. He dreamed of Igneel dying in this village, and Natsu was the person who killed him, his own father. That almost broke the boy at the time, not even being able to believe himself possible of taking a life._

_When Igneel left him, the nightmare came again, where Natsu heard Igneel claim he never loved Natsu and hated him. Of course this was never fully believed, it still hurt him to hear it. But as time passed, and the bodies of whom he killed piled up, he relived each and every death that he regretted. The village seemed to fill with the bodies of whom he could have saved, should have saved, the count rising each time. _

_Moving on from staring at the crying of a child that hugged his parents bodies, trying to get them to wake up, he moved on, trying to not remember that memory. His flames killed that child's parents six years ago on a mission when he fought a monster, catching their house on fire by his own flames, leaving him only enough time to save the child after he killed the monster. Turning around a corner, the familiar splatter of blood filled his vision, his sword in hand and stabbed through the chest of a man that had no reason to be in that Dark Guild, one of their hostages._

_It was the third time Natsu used his 'power', and having thought the man was a Dark Mage trying to attack him, he killed him with little remorse at the time, only having discovered later that it was a hostage trying to thank him. Pulling his sword from the man that fell to the ground, he was pulled into another vision now, the newest one to add to his collection, and possibly the worst of them all. This wasn't a first-person view anymore, instead he was the spectator to the event itself. Flashes of fire and magic filled the air as seemingly two Titan's fought it out. One he recognized as himself from the pink hair, sporting a few cuts, but nothing major._

_However, he had to keep himself from gagging as he looked at his opponent. Erza Scarlet stood there, missing her left arm and holding her sword in her right hand, blood and tears mixed all over her face. From her expression, he knew that she wasn't trying to hurt the other Natsu, who seemed to care less about Erza's state. Shouting out, his voice died in the roars of the fire and the burning of buildings, his body not listening as he was forced to watch, no matter how much he struggled. _

_The two fighter's clashed again, yet one of them with far less intent than the other. It was a familiar scene, Erza having closed her eyes, lowering her sword with a sad smile on her face. A splatter of blood filled the air as his view changed. He looked down, his own hand through Erza's chest, sticking out her back. She wasn't dead as she looked up to him, his face a display of shock and grief beyond imagining. She simply leaned up and kissed him gently before falling against him, the last he saw of her face being a mouthed, 'It wasn't your fault'._

_The cries of anguish filled the sky as a figure walked up behind him. "Disgusting….." It spoke in a deep, demonic voice. Snapping his head around, Natsu cradled Erza's body to look at….himself again? "When did we get so weak…to care for someone?" The voice, not belonging to Natsu, asked his counterpart. "You know who we are." It continued once more. "You know what we were made to do." The voice never stopped. "Why cry for one, when you laughed and celebrated over thousands?" It reminded him once more of what seemed to be a life, long forgotten. "WE LIVED FOR DEATH, REMEMBER?! YOU LIVED FOR SLAUGHTER!" The voice roared about, stopping slowly. The original Natsu only gripped Erza tighter, tears still streaming down his face, finally responding. "I am not that person…..I never will be." He growled out seriously._

"_It seems….I will have to remind you some more. Let's take another look." The other Natsu grinned wickedly, displaying fanged teeth as black marks started appearing all over his body. "LET US REJOICE IN SLAUGHTER!" It boomed out as everything started to reset until he once again stood outside of the village, being forced to walk towards it once more, to live in that hell again and again, until he woke up._

_**Era: Two Weeks Later**_

All of the councilors looked around, some of them scowling and others grinning in triumph. Siegran began as he grinned. "After two weeks of debate, I have a total of six votes agreeing to my decision, so that means Natsu Dragneel will be offered the position of the tenth Wizard Saint." Leaning back in his chair, he was inwardly satisfied with himself, a new pawn on the board and a new possible piece for him to use in his own plans.

Org scowled a bit as he finally conceded his loss. "Very well….but how do we go about contacting him? No one really knows where his guild resides." A cough brought everyone out of that thought as they looked to Ultear. "I am aware of their location." Some shouts of why she held this information back were thrown at her, but she shrugged them off. "I saved it for situations like this, besides, things needed to be kept interesting a bit longer." Sensing another shouting match, the large shadow stepped into the conversation. "Regardless, we now have a means to contact him. Ultear, you leave immediately, go and offer him the position. If he accepts, his guild will be forgiven for all past crimes, yet they will retain their status as a neutral guild, as long as they do not endanger the Council or the safety of Fiore."

The conditions were put out during the debate, in which everyone could at least agree to for their power to not be threatened. Ultear nodded a little bit as the shadow slammed a staff onto the ground. "Council dismissed, we will meet back in a week after we hear of Natsu Dragneel's decision and who to put forward for the position if he declines." The thought projections of everyone faded away as Ultear opened her eyes, looking at the entrance to Reaper's Scythe. Frowning, she gulped as she prepared herself a little bit. Their last meeting didn't go so well, but she was here as part of the Council this time, not Grimoire Heart, so the meeting should be peaceful…she hoped.

_**Fairy Tail: Medical Room**_

Stretching and testing out her healed injuries, Erza Scarlet made a focused expression as she grabbed the map that she had managed to 'persuade' the Master to give her to find Reaper's Scythe. He was entirely against it the entire two weeks up until yesterday, yet she finally managed to convince him to let her go and find Natsu to hopefully fix this entire mess. If she ruined another friendship and was the cause of so much pain….she like Natsu would never forgive themselves.

Walking out of Magnolia, she began her journey on foot, for no train went near any town that was close to the Reaper's Scythe guild hall. She would reach there by nightfall, if she went at a decent pace, it being seven in the morning at this moment. "Natsu….i'll see you soon." She smiled a little as she thought of the Dragon-Slayer.

_**Reaper's Scythe: Medical Room**_

Two pair of volcanic black eyes opened up to stare at the ceiling, no pupils visible in his eyes as he sat up, staring forward as the air around the bed turned to blistering temperatures. Turning his head to look at the door, volcanic black blended into blood red for several seconds until shouting from downstairs made him shake his head. His eyes returned to their normal color and the air settled back to a normal temperature, yet all the metal around him was melting slightly.

However, not everything returned to normal, as black markings around his forearm seemed to refuse to disappear as he looked to the door, the loud sounds of shouting and footsteps pulling his focus back to the door. The night sky behind him, outside of the window, gave him little light as the door opened, revealing two women. "…..can I help you?"


	15. Author's Note: Juli

**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone, this is a follow up message for the chapter I just released recently. Now, I said before that I will write a Note between each chapter to explain things and try to answer some questions that I find in the Reviews, so please pay attention. Some of these might be questions you have in the future or are missing some things that will make you a tad confused, whatever the case may be. So let's dive right on in to what I want to dicuss, shall we?**

**The first point on all of this is that Natsu is aware, to an extent, that he is different than most people, ignoring the entire Dragon-Slayer portion. He doesn't know what he is yet, nor does he know exactly why he has all these nightmares and that a different version of himself is in these nightmares. I'm sure a few of you would think he'd research this, but Natsu is Natsu, and one thing I liked keeping constant with him is his trait of 'putting it off'. **

**Next, I actually closed off my PM's for anything regarding what I post, mainly because a few messages I received are rather rude, and while I appreciate that they kept them out of the Reviews, I didn't exactly appreciate THAT part. I like to have my topics open for others to see what they have to say, and also for everyone else to notice what someone else has to say. I don't discourage anyone's honest opinion, instead I like it, just if it's within reason of not ruining anything.**

**For Natsu being considered a Wizard Saint, I honestly believed he was more than qualified for it in some of the things he has done. While all of you have noticed that Natsu actually has trouble with the 10****th**** rank, it shows that he can't dominate all his fights, since Natsu got pretty beat up, even if he had to deal with Odin. **

**Small explanation on my new OC, Cole, he won't be showing up much, he'll kind of be like the Mystogun of Reaper's Scythe where he's often gone and will only show up in certain situations. I just thought it was odd that the only S-class in the guild would be the Elemental Dragons, so I had to add a normal, hard-working mage in there to keep it balanced out. No, there isn't anything 'special' about Cole, he's just a regular S-class with his own abilities, a regular mage. No amazing power, reputation, just a regular mage, because sometimes having one is the best thing possible, reminds everyone that they can still work hard without being monsters like the Elemental Dragons.**

**Now I want everyone to understand something, because I've been dropping hints about it a few times over some chapters, though not in every one of them. Natsu actually has two sides that he shows, not the E.N.D. portion, but the Salamander and Natsu one. They are –not- the same people, because the Salamander part of him is actually a blend of his E.N.D. mindset with his regular abilities.**

**That's all I have for now, so Review and gimme any ideas over my chapters, I'll be gone for this next week because we're going out of town for some fishing trips for a week and celebrating the 4****th****. **

**Peace out everyone, have a good time until I post again!**


	16. All's well that ends well?

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys sorry I've been gone for a few more days than I thought I would be. Vacations are always great and sometimes we wish they never end, yet mine did and so I'm back to continue this story! It's really surprised me how many people like this story, since it was my first one and I thought that I was never a really good writer. **

**Please continue to review and comment on the latest chapters that I release, I appreciate reading all of them after each new chapter. Also, a special shout-out to several of you who continually review my chapters, it's nice to see some constant feedback from others. Often when I am reading reviews, I check the stories that some of the people have up on their accounts and read them, so I've been trying to return the favor whenever I can of reading all your stories as well.**

**Well, enough of that little topic, let's all get to what you've been waiting for, alright?**

_**Last Time:**_

**_Reaper's Scythe: Medical Room_**

_Two pair of volcanic black eyes opened up to stare at the ceiling, no pupils visible in his eyes as he sat up, staring forward as the air around the bed turned to blistering temperatures. Turning his head to look at the door, volcanic black blended into blood red for several seconds until shouting from downstairs made him shake his head. His eyes returned to their normal color and the air settled back to a normal temperature, yet all the metal around him was melting slightly._

_However, not everything returned to normal, as black markings around his forearm seemed to refuse to disappear as he looked to the door, the loud sounds of shouting and footsteps pulling his focus back to the door. The night sky behind him, outside of the window, gave him little light as the door opened, revealing two women. "…..can I help you?"_

_**Now:**_

Natsu didn't exactly know how to react to the two people who walked in the room, mainly because the two of them not starting any real conflict in front of him was a miracle at best. _'Kami….I really don't know if you love me or hate me….i'm leaning towards hate.'_ He grumbled internally as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. As much as he wished it wasn't, the fact of the matter was that right now he was torn between listening to whatever they said or to fight one of them.

"Ah, Natsu-kun~. That's mean, I thought you'd enjoy seeing me again." Ultear spoke out, and even though her tone of voice made it seem like she was poking fun at him, her eyes betrayed her, showing signs of fear. A small tic mark appeared on Natsu's head as he sighed again. This was not what he expected to wake up to when he finally got away from one nightmare and jumped right into another. "Jess…..why the hell is she here?" He groaned out to the other Dragon Slayer who looked like she wanted nothing more than to beat Ultear into the floor.

"Don't look at me, Natsu….. The Master and her had a few words before I could attack her and he told me to bring her to you." Jess grit out through clenched teeth, her fair occasionally lifting into the air, showing a small current of wind around her. The only thing that could have stopped one of the Elemental Dragons from doing something was the word of their Master, whom each of them held in rather high regard for their own reasons. "Great….so why the hell are you here, Grimoire Heart?" The Fire Dragon-Slayer asked, leaning back a bit in his bed but keeping a watchful eye on Ultear.

Said woman let her façade drop and flinched back as he addressed her, the memory of what he did a few weeks ago still fresh in her mind. Recomposing herself quickly, she plastered an emotionless expression onto her face. "I am not here for my guild, I'm actually here because the Council wished to make a…proposition to you." This drew a raised eyebrow from both of the other two occupants in the room, mainly wondering what the Council would offer when they were currently wishing to execute them.

Natsu tilted his head, the serious expression on his face making him look like he was deep in thought. Ultear swallowed a lump in her throat at the look he was giving her, yet she didn't make any other move. Finally, a giant red question mark appeared over Natsu's head as his expression was just confused. "Propo- what now?" The Time and Dragon fell against one another in a comical 'flop'. Any amount of tension in the room disappeared as Jess was crouching down, rubbing her head, groaning. Ultear was standing but had a flabbergasted look on her face. "Just…it's an offer."

A nod from Natsu told her that he at least knew what that could mean, so she ignored her throbbing head and walked a bit closer. "With your huge criminal record, this would never be offered to you, yet some convincing from certain members allowed this." Natsu motioned with his hand for her to continue as Jess leaned in a bit, actually curious to hear what was being said. No one seemed to notice the near half a dozen heads peeking into the room from behind the open door.

"Natsu Dragneel of Reaper's Scythe, the Council offers you the position of the tenth Wizard Saint." No reaction came for a few moments as Ultear waited for an answer. She expected a simple 'Yes' or 'No' from someone as simple from Natsu Dragneel, since the man rarely bothered to get into lengthy debates….if he could. All of that was shattered as the six people fell from the behind the door right onto the floor, spilling into the room.

These people consisted of Atlas, Rose, Master Lycas, Linzy, Cole, and one Erza Scarlet. "WHAT?!" The shout from the six and Jess filled the Guild, shaking the entire fortress and threatening to make it collapse in on itself. Natsu simply had another confused look on his face which turned to absolute shock as he noticed who else was in the room. "E-Erza?!" Natsu almost choked on air, looking at the now sheepish looking Fairy Tail mage. "What in the bloody hell is everyone doing here?!" He roared out as the scene faded off.

Once everything seemed to calm down, Ultear and Natsu were now alone in the room, Natsu having told Erza that he'll talk to her after this, since it likely affected his entire Guild. "….what brought this offer up?" Natsu was currently sitting on a chair, arms crossed and looking intently at Ultear sitting across from him. Said woman felt much more comfortable knowing that she was no longer in any danger here. "The Council has had some…hard times, recently. With so many corrupt Wizard Saints and their guilds, they decided for something new. You were the solution we had….because even after all you've done, the opportunity was too good to pass up."

"So what exactly am I to do? If you haven't noticed, we're a Neutral Guild." Natsu told her, to which she smiled a little bit in return as she spoke. "That's the point." He frowned a bit at her but let her continue. "You don't have any real laws tying your Guild down. You do what is needed, so if say the Council 'hired' you to do some jobs Legal guilds can't, yours can." She added on, saving the last bit of information for last. "But more than anything….I don't think you realize exactly how terrifying you are." Natsu seemed confused so she started to explain it.

"You defeated two Wizard Saints, several members of Dawn's Roar, including Risen Sparks, or you know him as Odin, another man near Wizard Saint level. A total of twenty-nine Dark Guilds, twelve Legal Guilds, and nearly nineteen Mercenary Guilds. Natsu Dragneel, in case you haven't noticed, almost no one else has done that much in their entire life." She concluded and watched as he shrugged not a second later, leaning back a bit more in his chair, relaxing himself further. "There are tons of people stronger than me, you know. I'm strong, I know I could possibly fight Bluenote or Brain to a standstill on a good day for me and bad for him, but there's something else, isn't there?"

Natsu suddenly leaned forward, a glare fixed in on her as she jerked back in her chair. "I'm not so stupid as to believe you…..what are you planning?" He narrowed his eyes at her as Ultear nodded slowly. "Jellal Fernandez, or you know him as Seigran, is looking to use you as a pawn in his foolish little game." Lying to him was useless, and he wouldn't tell anyone even if he found out, so she felt a bit confident in not being killed because of it. "Tch…the blue-haired asshole who is always doing something…figures."

The Dragon Slayer relaxed himself in his seat as he lightly tapped his fingers along the table. _'I take the offer and we're cleared of everything, yet it'll draw attention to us…and Master is letting me decide this. I'll likely be used for some stupid plan for the Council and sacrificed when I'm no longer useful. All in all, the Council likely made this decision knowing that they'd wipe us out eventually….almost nothing but drawbacks.' _Natsu looked at Ultear for a moment before he made his decision. "Screw your offer." Ultear recoiled slightly. "Is what I should say, but I think this will be fun." That insane grin that made him so famous shined across his face.

Ultear, initially shocked, slowly nodded a little bit as she coughed into her hand. Reaching into her kimono, she slowly pulled out a badge that had the markings of 'Ten' on it and slid it over to Natsu. "A cloak will be sent to you in a few days….that badge is to go on it and show your rank. A full detailed list of requirements will be mailed with the cloak." She finished, ending the topic in a business-like manner. "Now I'll be leaving you and your little Titania to…'catch up'. If you need a third for your little fun, call me." She winked right as Natsu gaped at her, his face bright red. He didn't respond as she walked out the door, leaving him staring at it as it closed.

_**In the Hallway:**_

"What do you look so smug about?" A voice called from the left of Ultear, to where she found Erza staring at her with a critical expression and Jess gazing at her with barely contained malice. "Nothing at all….Natsu accepted one of my offers, but not my other one yet….though with him blushing like that, he thought about it~." She chimed slightly as she was about to turn around, that was until she felt a cold thin piece of steel at her throat. "What did you do to him?" Erza's hair was floating up in the air behind her, her eyes shadowed slightly by her glare.

Jess took a few steps back, slightly nervous around said redhead. Ultear wasn't even fazed as she made a lewd grin. "Why, I simply offered my 'services' to him if he ever needed it. Ask the little girl over there, I made this offer several times, yet I never heard him actually refuse." Said Reaper Scythe member froze as Erza turned to look at her. "H-he never accepted either!" She quickly went onto say, yelping as a sword imbedded itself right next to her head. '_How the hell does Natsu like this girl?! She's insane!' _Jess inwardly panicked a little. Erza was growling out as the air seemed to turn thick. "I worry for two weeks to get here and you offer yourself to him like a slab of meat!?" She yelled to Ultear, rage written over her face.

Ultear simply shrugged as she started walking away again, ignoring the fuming Titania behind her. _'She isn't Salamander, but she's still dangerous…thankfully she can't do much at the moment.' _Ultear was thinking to herself as she disappeared, leaving Jess grabbing Erza from behind to keep her from going after Ultear.

As the Time Mage disappeared around the corner, Erza stopped struggling and instead was glaring at the door that had Natsu behind it. In the time they were outside, Jess and Erza seemed to hit it off pretty well, as the rest returned to their duties while Ultear and Natsu were talking. Yet even now, Jess was wishing they had stayed to help her from keeping this woman from putting Natsu back into a coma. '_Kami help that idiot!'_ Jess thought as she was sent down the hall, shrugged off by Erza who slammed the door open and shut, closing it behind her.

The last thing anyone could see was a sweating Natsu looking at Erza Scarlet who summoned a very, very large spiked mace.

_**Fairy Tail:**_

"Old man, it's almost midnight, where is Erza?" Gray shouted from his table. Him and a few others noticed that the S-class mage was missing since this morning and hasn't been to the guild even once the entire day. The others currently here were Lucy, Cana, Mirajane, Elfman, and oddly enough, Mystogun. Makarov glanced down from his position on the upper railing, sipping from his mug a bit more. "She's out handling some business…leave it at that." He spoke calmly, though there was a firm edge to it that showed others to not question it, yet one Ice-Make mage didn't get it.

"Why? She hasn't said almost anything since that bastard nearly killed her!" He shouted, but that drew a smack from Mirajane who hit Gray over his head. "Enough, Gray. Even though we are worried about her, we can't just go out and question everything she does." Mystogun was sitting at the bar, watching the conversation, yet he was a tad confused as well as to the sudden disappearance of his fellow S-class mage. She wasn't one to leave without telling others, yet he knew something important must have happened for her to do this.

Through this entire ordeal, Cana was flipping through her cards, trying to get a guess on where Erza was. Cana was never that close to the woman, so trying to test the bond that linked the magic to the S-class mage was harder than usual. Sighing, she ignored the back and forth talk of Mirajane and Gray, setting up three cards face down. Folding them together, she placed her right hand onto the top card, thinking of the woman. So far, all she had brought up were either pictures of cake, armor, and weapons, things everyone knew was related to her.

So flipping over the top card and finding a Grim Reaper with a Scythe in its hand made her gasp and drop the card. This drew everyone's attention to her as she picked it up to examine it. "What's wrong, Cana?" Lucy asked, peering over her shoulder to look at the card. "Death?" Lucy questioned, drawing a shake of the head from Cana. "No, that's a skull and cross bones. This is a 'placement' card, for her location…." She flipped the card around to show everyone else, and surprisingly enough the most dense of them all figured it out first. "She's going to see that damn flame brain!"

Everyone jerked their attention over to Makarov as he sighed, Mystogun piecing everything together from what he has heard happen from the Master himself. Said mysterious S-class mage finally decided to speak. "She likely went to re-connect with him….it was all a terrible misunderstanding, you know." Getting over the shock of the normally mute man speaking, Gray shook his head. "She almost died to him! What were you thinking, letting her go, Master?!" He shouted to Makarov who glared at Gray. "And what were you thinking, nearly killing yourself with forbidden magic on that island with Deloria?"

Said remark instantly shut the boy up, but drew a softer look from Makarov. "We need to let her make her own decisions…she is aware of what she is doing so I can not tell her not to do anything that she has her mind set on." He went back to drinking from his mug as Lucy turned to Cana again. "Cana, what are the other two cards there for?" This made everyone look at the guild drunk instantly, the person suddenly sheepish under the pressure. "E-emotional state and thoughts." She placed her hand back onto the next card, focusing once more on Erza mentally as she flipped it, revealing a large amount of red mixed with green.

"She's very angry at something, but jealous at the same time." Cana answered everyone's unasked question, finally setting her hand onto the final card. Repeating the same process, she flipped it over to look at it by herself. However, her face instantly lit up like a tomato as she tore the card to pieces in the span of half a second. This drew shocked expressions from everyone besides Mystogun, who noting the blush on Cana, figured what was happening. He contained his amusement as he watched everyone start to question Cana what it was and the girl refusing to say anything.

"Oh come on, tell us, you ripped the card up!" Elfman spoke, annoyed slightly as Mirajane was pouting, likely missing out on guild blackmail material. "It's nothing! Forget about it!" Cana told them while Gray was watching, slightly confused. Lucy was by herself, piecing together the card scraps again quietly. After adding the final piece, Cana noticed too late to stop her as Lucy got a full view of what it was. Blood leaked from her nose onto the cards, covering the image as it ruined the paper.

"O-oh my…." Lucy was holding her nose slightly as Makarov had a perverted grin now, figuring out what it was. By now, almost everyone else figured out what it was and each were sporting either a blush, a frown, and an all out sadistic grin. '_I'm getting –every- little detail of this when she gets back!'_ Mirajane thought, that grin not disappearing.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Lucy stood up, muttering something about 'Cold showers' as Cana glanced at the remnants of the card. "…it didn't help that those were moving picture cards either…." She noted as a new round of blushes and a grin filled the faces of everyone. Makarov was laughing rather loudly at all of it. "Hahaha! It looks like the new generation is coming quicker than I thought!" Mystogun, while amused, could not pass up the chance presented to him. "That means that you'll be even older, Master." That comment instantly drew depression lines from Makarov, who was slumped into his mug.

"Damn brats…." He muttered as everyone started laughing at his misfortune, everyone enjoying themselves fully with the situation that they were in. No one noticed on one edge of the card that wasn't ruined, a spiked mace was currently being slammed into a person.

_**Reaper's Scythe Medical Room:**_

"Have you learned your lesson?" Erza asked, standing over Natsu who was currently half buried into the floor, one hand reaching into the air as if to try and grasp the ceiling. "Y-yes….can you help me please? I think…my back broke." Natsu gasped out, his hand grabbed by Erza who helped him sit down on the medical bed….or what remained of it anyways. Nearly a dozen Natsu sized holes filled the room, and each of them looked like they were used with the maximum force possible. "Always turn down someone who offers their body to you like some skank." Erza reminded him, pleased with her 'punishment'.

Nodding slowly, Natsu groaned a bit, rolling his shoulder while his other arm was rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "Anyways….besides to abuse me, why are you here, don't you hate me?" He asked, which got him another smack across his head, making him hold his head like a child. "W-what?! Why did you hit me again?!" Natsu whined out, but he didn't miss the tear that fell in front of his face onto his lap. Nor did he not feel the arms wrap around his back and the red hair fall in front of his face as Erza leaned her head into the crook of his neck.

"Don't you –ever- think I will hate you, Dragneel. If you do, I'll make sure you can never think again." She spoke out in a very soft voice, almost like it was broken. Frowning, Natsu wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her a tad closer while his other hand rubbed her back soothingly. "I almost killed you, Erza….just because I wasn't strong enough and was desperate to escape. It's my fault you…." He was silenced as a fist in his stomach made him lose his breathe, yet it wasn't hard, just enough to get him to be quiet. "It was my choice, Natsu. I know you aren't happy to hear that, but I do not regret my choice. You're back, we're alive, everything is fine now." She spoke, never raising her head to look at him in the eyes, yet from the wetness on his shirt, he knew she was crying from her good eye.

Natsu didn't bother arguing with her, because in a way she was right, it was her choice, but that didn't mean he couldn't still hate himself for what he did. He simply held her while she stayed there for another minute, until she seemed to be able to control herself slightly better and looked down to his lap. "Do you…." He looked down at her as she spoke, watching as she raised her head to look at him firmly. "What do you feel for me, Natsu Dragneel?" She had to make sure none of this was a mistake, she had to know that this wasn't going to end up like the last time she felt like she was falling for someone.

The Dragon Slayer didn't respond for a few moments, her hope falling with each second as it seemed to her that he couldn't answer honestly. Just as she was about to lose all of it, his arms tightened around her. "What kind of stupid question is that?" He sounded annoyed, drawing a growl from Erza. "What do you-" was as far as she got before he jerked her to him, crashing his lips against hers. The sudden shock left Erza unable to respond for several seconds, but she managed to after. Even someone as inexperienced as her knew that there was a lot of passion coming from Natsu, answering her question physically, but not verbally.

It lasted for nearly half a minute before they gently broke apart, Erza blushing brightly while Natsu had the biggest shit eating grin on his face to ever be seen. "Does that answer your question?" He mused playfully, but frowned when she shook her head at him, making him confused. "I want to hear it." She leveled a glare on him, which was rather cute in his opinion with the mix of her blush and the expression on her face. "Hear what?" He teased slightly, one of his mature moments mixed with his childish leaving him with an irritating combination to Erza.

"Say those words, Natsu Dragneel." She growled out, drawing a thoughtful look from Natsu. "What words? I've never heard you say anything to me about feelings before." He asked innocently, making Erza curse under her breathe. She wanted him to say it first, yet at the same time she didn't know if she could, for some part of her mind was still latched onto the past. It was hard for her to let go of everything, it was nearly impossible. "You know them, just….please say it?" She asked a bit quietly, looking at him for a response.

Natsu simply smiled a bit more as he leaned forward to speak directly into her ear. "Erza Scarlet." She gulped slightly at this. "I'm pretty damn confident I love you." He chuckled into her ear, drawing a relieved sigh from Erza. Said woman had the most goofy smile on her face now, as it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders. She pushed him back on the bed a little bit as she climbed up, making room for herself.

"Erza?" He questioned, but his only response was her laying her head on his chest. "Shut up." Was the short response, drawing a sound of surprise from him. "I've been walking all day and I'm still wounded you know. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. Try anything and you'll be losing something important." Natsu was beyond confused and shocked at the sudden change in attitude, this mainly being unlike her that he knew, yet he could appreciate her demanding something from him, he hated people who only listened to others and didn't stand up or take anything when they wanted it.

Before he could say anything back, he felt her entire body relax and her breathing even out, as well as her heartbeat slow down to a steady pace, easy signs of her instantly falling asleep. "She must have been exhausted after all of it….." He mused quietly to himself. This had to be one of the most interesting days of his life, because of everything that happened in the last two hours was certainly –not- what he expected when he woke up earlier. Granted, he could really figure out what he thought when he woke up, all he remembered was already sitting up and staring at the door.

Glancing off to the side, he frowned as he noticed a piece of melted metal, one of the few things that survived Erza's rampage earlier. Touching it with his free hand, he was careful not to disturb Erza, yet he jerked his hand back after touching it. Something felt wrong about the way that was melted, the only fire mage here was himself, yet these things were melted by flames that seemed…corrupt. Sighing, he decided thinking about it right now wouldn't do him any good, since he was currently acting as a pillow for the girl on his chest.

Leaning back, he curled his other arm around her, keeping her there as to make sure she didn't roll away. His gaze flickered to her face as his pupils disappeared, shifting back to the red and black mix for half a second, yet unlike before, the temperature in the room did not change. The intention of the pink-haired man was to sleep, and he was, yet another part of him was currently awake, staring at the woman in 'his' hands.

"He certainly found an interesting one, it'll be nice to see him when he breaks." The deep, echoing voice filled the room as the 'man' leaned his head back to sleep.

_**Reaper's Scythe Guild Hall:**_

Atlas and Cole were absently holding the mugs in their hands, staring off into space at this point. Neither of them had any real expressions on their faces, looking as if they were stone, which was something for the Earth Dragon-Slayer. Across from them, Rose and Jess looked at them with concerned expressions. "…..they've been like that for almost two hours." Rose whispered to Jess as she watched Atlas take a half-minded drink from his mug, half of it spilling onto the floor.

"I think they are broke." Jess said, frowning a bit more as she watched them repeat the process of spilling half their drink and reaching for a new mug. The near two dozen mugs on each of their sides showed exactly how much the two S-class mages drank. "I was shocked Natsu got offered that too, but….I didn't think those two would take it this hard." Rose said slightly as she waved her hand in front of Atlas's face. "What do you expect? Cole handles the monetary transactions, so he'll be overwhelmed with Natsu's destructive rampages with these new missions. Atlas is the one that usually keeps Natsu calm, but that's all impossible now. Their jobs are basically SS-class missions by themselves."

The voice came from Master Lycas who was sitting at the bar, his head leaned down to one side, the two female's sweat-dropping slightly as they noticed how much alcohol was there. Two barrels. TWO BARRELS. "Master…I think you had enough." Rose spoke quietly, concerned for the fate of the guild with so many of them incapacitated at this moment. It was a good thing Ultear left some time ago, less she be judging how their Master reacted to this development. "My money…all my money. I worked so hard…and it'll all be gone in a week." The old man said, involuntarily releasing a burst of magic which crushed his part of the bar.

The ruined bar stopped roughly five feet from Linzy, who was eating a large plate of pancakes, yet it spilled her juice from the shock of it. Rose and Jess sweat-dropped, the sound of Linzy's glass of orange juice falling making Atlas and Cole snap out of their shock. Master Lycas never noticed what happened, his head facing the other side of the bar, yet the sniffles made him look over and almost panic at the sight of Linzy's knocked over drink.

Linzy looked up at Lycas who was sweating nervously, feeling a hand on either of his shoulders, Atlas and Cole holding him in place. "A-Atlas, Cole, let me go, I order you!" The drunk Master tried to get away, yet the charging of magic from in front of him made him look at Linzy. In her hand was a pink ball, roughly six inches in diameter. "Stop! You can't do this to me! I'm your Master!" He looked to Atlas pleadingly, then to Cole, neither moving as they grinned to him. "You set up this rule yourself, Old Man…the one who messes with Linzy has to get punished." Jess spoke up from the table, not moving and rather enjoying the show now, since it distracted all of them from what happened not so long ago.

The small girl hopped from her place at the bar and slammed the ball onto Lycas's forehead. "Color Magic: Dye!" As the magic enveloped the old Master, everyone started laughing as the man appeared with a pink beard, eyebrows, and hair. "Gah!" Master Lycas looked at himself, and though he was drunk, embarrassed, and likely stuck like this for a few days, he was grateful that one Fire Dragon-Slayer couldn't see this.

"All of you will be the death of me…." He grumbled with depression lines on his face as Cole and Atlas went back to their table, the events bringing them back from their spacing out. A sudden change in the magical aura in the guild made Lycas frown, gripping his staff tightly, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished. His eyes lingered upon the stairs to the medical wing, running his fingers along the staff for a moment before relaxing it just slightly. '_That's the second episode tonight….it's worse. Thankfully the project is almost complete….I hope he lasts just a bit longer.' _The old man thought, everyone missing his sudden serious expression as he kept his grip on his staff.

His gaze was focused on the stairs, never leaving their position as he quietly spoke to himself. "Zeref…what in the world did you do to that boy?"

_**Somewhere:**_

A pair of charcoal black eyes opened to look at the sky, his hands behind his head as he looked into the night. From his position against the tree, he smiled slightly as he let out a small chuckle, moving to stand up as he overlooked a dead forest, the one surviving tree that he was leaning against remaining.

"So, he's almost awake now, hmm? It's a few years earlier than I thought, but this all works out rather well." The sentence was spoke in a very soft tone, the shadows around the man disappearing as the moon made its way out of the clouds, revealing a black-haired, robed figure who looked in his early twenties.

"Shall we begin, my greatest, beloved enemy?"

**Author's Note:**

**Really not my best work, I was up at 4 in the morning by the time I finished this, so forgive me if it isn't up to par like most of my other stories. Sorry once again it took so long, expect my next update in around the same time-frame as this one, a week or maybe 8-10 days, I am very grateful for all of you staying with this story. All of you have a good time until we next meet again!**


	17. Color of your Blood

**Author's Note:**

**READ THIS HERE:**

**I blame each and every one of you for this. Some of you must have been giving sacrifices or something for me to feel like releasing this next chapter early. Oh well, it can't be helped, I actually enjoy writing this story even though I make up what the plot is while I'm still writing it. Planning things ahead never suited me really well, so I just go with the flow. Now for a few answers, since this is the Author's Note that explains last chapter as well as the new chapter.**

**There shouldn't be any given hints on what Natsu is now. This shows me some of you don't bother reading my author's notes when I post them. This makes me sad.**

**Natsu will have some revelations in the future that will help him understand what he is, and yes, Lycus has a very big suspicion about what Natsu is. More details on that will be coming out in later chapters, don't worry. Another thing that a few people seemed concerned about is Erza herself. While I didn't like her over-forgiving stance in the actual storyline, I'd like to remind everyone exactly –how- emotionally fragile she is. She just didn't lose a parent or run away because of daddy issues (Lucy, *Cough*), she was kidnapped, tortured, fought and bled for her freedom to rescue someone she loved and was betrayed.**

**That's pretty damn dark right there, especially since Grandpa Rob died for that cause, so she is very fragile over a new relationship, because she's afraid of what she'll lose if it's all too good to be true again. Granted she will have a more mature stance in this story, because she would have been forced to grow up because of it. When I brought up the thing of 'testing their faith for each other', I simply didn't mean romantically. **

**As you all noticed, E.N.D. has been getting a bit more control, because in fact he actual seems to have a decent amount, right? Anyone would get worn down from so many nightmares. Once again going back to Natsu on the Wizard Saint topic, I felt like including that in here because it would cause a shit ton of drama, which EVERYONE loves. More fights? Yes. More NaZa? Yes. More one-sided brutal battles that mentally scars someone? Yes.**

**With that out of the way, Review on what you think of my little Note. Once again, read the darn things. They're for the benefit of everyone. Now, enough of that crap, let's get to the real stuff you all came for!**

_**Last Time:**_

_A pair of charcoal black eyes opened to look at the sky, his hands behind his head as he looked into the night. From his position against the tree, he smiled slightly as he let out a small chuckle, moving to stand up as he overlooked a dead forest, the one surviving tree that he was leaning against remaining._

_"So, he's almost awake now, hmm? It's a few years earlier than I thought, but this all works out rather well." The sentence was spoke in a very soft tone, the shadows around the man disappearing as the moon made its way out of the clouds, revealing a black-haired, robed figure who looked in his early twenties._

_"Shall we begin, my greatest, beloved enemy?"_

_**Now:**_

"This is a really bad idea." Cole whispered to Master Lycus as they continued to walk through the town of Magnolia, garnering quiet nods from Atlas and Rose and an uninterested look from Jess. The five of them were currently following Erza and Natsu who were walking roughly fifteen feet in front of the group, with Linzy sitting on Natsu's shoulders and holding his hair like reigns. If one looked at them from a distance, they'd be quite curious as to the apparently in love, young couple with what could only be assumed was their daughter on Natsu's shoulders.

Master Lycus casually looked over his shoulder, down to Cole who was sending a small glare at him from behind his glasses. Said glasses were slightly down, Cole raising his wrist with his hand flipped back, not using his fingers to push them up, oddly enough. It seemed he was somewhat wary of his fingers being near his face or glasses, opting to use his palms or wrist. (Any of you realize where this is from, I liked this dude.) "I don't see a problem in us coming here, Cole. Now that I don't have the Council after my Guild or myself, we have plenty of rights to be here." Lycus told him casually, continuing to look forward.

The front of the guild hall could be seen now, probably half of a mile away from their current position, or the barely attempted start of it. Building such a large structure would obviously take a large amount of time and resources, the five noted. "Get the stick out of your ass, Cole." Jess snapped finally, she having had to listen to this for the entire walk here. It did not help that Lycus was quite quick to wake them up at four in the morning so they could get here early, making most of them a bit sour. "I'm SORRY that we're going to a guild that the Master of threatened to kill Natsu!" Cole shouted back at her.

Both of the two slammed their foreheads together as Jess growled out. "Want to go, sword-freak?" This drew a similar growl from Cole who placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Anytime, windbag!" Even with the massive strength difference between the two, it did not stop them from seeking a fight at every opportunity. Cole and Jess, mainly the two most emotionless of the guild, were actually quite hot-headed when in the presence of one another.

As the two of them started to build their magic up, Rose and Atlas stood off to the side nervously, not sure really whether to get involved or not. Even Natsu and Erza stopped to look back at what was happening, the latter gaining a tic mark while the former just sighed. Cole drew his sword into a quick slash as Jess slashed her claw-like fingers forward, catching the sword with the dense wind currents around her fingers. Both of them were so locked on their glares at one another that they did not notice the aura of doom approaching them.

Rose and Atlas backed up to Natsu and the other two as they all gulped, even Linzy. A hand set itself on Cole's and Jess's shoulder as they snapped their heads up to shout at whoever was getting involved. Both of them turned as pale as ghosts as they looked at the smiling, close-eyed face of their master. "Now now, children. It wouldn't do good to start a fight here, because 'accidents' do happen. Oh, I remember when Natsu had an accident, I'm sure you all remember that." He spoke in a friendly manner, but the two S-class mages were sweating bullets.

Both of them immediately slung an arm around each other's shoulders as they smiled at Master Lycus. "Y-yeah! Don't worry, we're just playing around!" Cole chuckled nervously, gaining a nod from Jess as well. "Oh, the next time you play around, I'll join too, after all, it's just playing." He responded kindly, making the two gulp loudly. "I-I think we're fine master, really!"

It would be quite the comical sight if one looked at this from afar, many of the citizens around them went from running for their lives to having to contain their laughter. The picture of these two monsters in human form being chided by a tall, elderly man with pink hair everywhere was too much for some of them. The same self-control couldn't be said for Natsu who was slamming his fist on the ground, his stomach hurting so much from having to silence his laughter. Rose and Atlas were snickering as Erza sighed, holding Linzy in her arms.

Said small girl was watching with a smile, clapping her hands at the small little scene in front of them. A few chiding remarks later from Master Lycus and they all seemed more relaxed, though Cole and Jess kept sending glares at one another. "I'm hungry!" Linzy yelled childishly from Erza's arms, giving Natsu's shoulders a break. Rose looked off to the left and noticed that because of the almost fight, they stopped next to a fancy looking café. "Come on, it's only three in the afternoon. Because of Jess's enchantments we got here early, so let's eat." She suggested, already walking there with Atlas next to her.

The others looked between each other and followed, though Erza was a bit slow to do so because she wanted to inform the master of what all happened and tell him what to expect as soon as possible. '_Waiting an hour or two can't hurt….I mean, if anything happens, the Guild is right over there.'_ She simply thought to herself as they all entered the café. Conversations everywhere stopped as they all entered the small establishment, mainly because the eight of them looked ready for war, if a small girl could be ready for such a thing.

The talking resumed however, since it was likely assumed they were Mage's here on a mission, not that rare of an occurrence here at all. Sitting next to the window, they all managed to get a rather large table of eight chairs, surprisingly enough. It was quite a sight, if one knew what they were actually looking at. In front of them was possibly the most famous Neutral guild on the continent, their strongest members and Master, who had pink hair like a Barbie doll and looked quite odd, and most of all Erza Scarlet.

Said woman was garnering a few looks for being with an unknown group, but she ignored it and looked to her left to where Linzy was sitting between her and Natsu. The little girl insisted on staying with the two at all times, much to their confusion. On Erza's right was Jess and across from Jess was Cole, the two kicking each other under the table. On Cole's right was Master Lycus, then Rose and finally Atlas.

A young man, possibly in his early twenties came up to the table, wearing the store's Waiter uniform as he pulled out a small notepad and a pen. One look at the table though and the man started laughing at the pink hair of the two members. That stopped however when the two said men glared at him with such intensity he felt like he was going to combust. Immediately looking to Jess, he put on his bet charming smile. "May I take your order, beautiful?" He spoke plainly the obvious flirt drawing growls from Cole and Jess, instantly unsettling the man.

"One playboy Waiter on a pike please." She grinned cruelly, making the man back away a few moments and choke on air as he went into the kitchen. Silence reigned on the table for a minute until they all started laughing, though Linzy was slightly confused as to what the threat meant. A minute later, a female Waitress came outside and apologized for what happened and proceeded to take all of their orders. All of them elected on a Breakfast menu, and because of some unknown phenomenon, every single one of them ordered Pancakes, besides Linzy who asked for some Strawberry Cheesecake.

This was quickly added onto by Erza asking for one as well, the woman cursing herself for forgetting her favorite treat. Once they got their food, Master Lycus elected to speak first. "Now, I know this is quite odd for all of us to make this trip, but I think it's appropriate because of recent…developments." He sent a look at Natsu who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, holding hands with Erza behind Linzy's chair as Erza blushed. "The possibility of our two guilds interacting from now on is very high, so I thought it fit to familiarize ourselves with them. I'm sure I don't have to tell all of you to be on your best behavior, no matter what happens." He gave a narrow look at each of them, bar Linzy and Erza, making the five Reaper's Scythe mages sweat nervously.

"But why come all the way to Magnolia, Master Lycus? You could have had us meet somewhere half-way." Erza questioned casually, eating her cake with a small moan with each bite. Something about the old man made Erza so relaxed in his presence it reminded her of Master Makarov. "I didn't think your guild would be in the shape for it, with so many of you focused on rebuilding it." He spoke, gaining a nod of understanding from Erza.

Natsu and the rest of the Dragon-Slayers had long since finished their meals, inhaling it like it wasn't even there. Cole was eating at a naturally slow pace with Linzy and Master Lycus. Erza was almost finished with her food as Natsu spoke. "Anyone we should be careful of?" This drew surprised looks from everyone at the intelligent question. Said look didn't sit well with Natsu who growled. "What? Got a problem?" Erza elbowed Natsu and coughed slightly to get him back to topic.

"Yes, actually…" Everyone looked at Erza, curious now. "Laxus Dreyar, another S-class Mage likes to start problems. He will look for a reason to fight you and likely do anything to challenge you all to make you appear weak. It is an understatement to say he is hot-headed, brash, yet at the same time he has the power to do so." Erza looked at Natsu and frowned. "Natsu, I'm being honest….he'd likely mop the floor with you if you aren't careful."

_**Era: Council Room**_

"…what?" Was the intelligent reply from Org, who had to use his finger to try and clean out his ears for a moment. The room was silent as Ultear sighed once again, even Siegran looking a bit perplexed at the turn of events, making things even more curious. "He knows –exactly- why we offered him the position and he accepted it anyways, as I said before." Org slammed his fist onto the table. "I know that damnit, but tell me the other part again!" He shouted, making others look at him in surprise.

Taking a moment to enjoy the look that Org currently had on his face, Ultear was wearing the biggest smile that could fit on her face. "I am saying that Erza Scarlet and Natsu Dragneel are apparently in a relationship and this will possibly make them and Fairy Tail allies. This means that if we try to eventually oust Reaper's Scythe, we will have to deal with Fairy Tail as well." She repeated for all of them as she chuckled at the silence in the room. Siegran was inwardly cursing slightly as this made things a bit more complicated now. '_Natsu Dragneel I could deal with alone, as well as Erza…but for both of them to be together, not to mention the forces of both guilds….i'll have to tread carefully from here on. This means I'll need extra security.'_

After the moment of silence, Ultear continued, apparently not bothering to care that the entire plan behind the offer of the rank was now destroyed. "That means that not only Natsu, but Makarov, who are both Saints, are the largest political challenges. This more or less makes Reaper's Scythe immune to any action from us, since Makarov has such a high reputation amongst Mages. Congratulations, our own plan back-fired. We gave Natsu Dragneel the rank, the authority, and the power to do what he wants without fear from us unless he breaks the laws."

The shouting match that followed after that statement filled the room and could be heard through the entire building at this point in time. The only silent ones were Yajima, Ultear, Siegran, and oddly enough, the head of the Council. Said shadow could obviously be seen stroking his chin in thought for a few moments as he was pondering something over. Ultear and Siegran shared a look, both knowing they would speak later about this development, as Yajima was simply enjoy the entire situation. The small, old man was on the council to only help weed out as much corruption as possible, and this wrinkle in the plan satisfied him greatly.

As the shouting continued, the large shadow slammed the butt of his staff onto the ground, silencing all conversation. "I have an idea." Yajima lost the smile that was on his face as everyone looked towards the head Councilmen. "Since Natsu Dragneel is the problem, we simply get rid of him. There are many SS-class assignments out there that are considered suicide, so we simply have to send him on enough until he dies. As strong as he is, he'll wear out from fatigue eventually and slip up. He won't refuse our requests, I doubt he is that kind of person to 'chicken out' of a challenge." He took a sip of the tea on a small platter on the table that they all sat at before he continued. "Even an Wizard Saint has great trouble with these missions, the exception being those from the fifth to the first."

Finishing the cup of tea, a bright grin could be seen from the shadow. "We'll simply overload him with work until he either resigns or he dies. He would simply be 'doing his duty', and we won't have any real problems to face." The rest of the table looked on in stunned silence, mainly disgust from Yajima and Ultear, but the rest were genuinely happy with such an outcome. "Agreed." Siegran quickly went onto say. "With this, he is officially a threat, and stripping him of his title for no reason would raise alarms and make us lose face. Whether it take months or years, that's all the more time for him to destroy Dark Guilds and do our work like a pack mule."

"All in favor?" Org said with glee evident in his tone, as all the hands raised bar three. Yajima and Ultear were two, the latter gaining a very hated glare from Siegran for her defiance, as the third was the most shocking of all. It was the very man who offered the idea in the first place who kept his hand down for the vote. "W-what?" Org looked, even though the vote passed, he was beyond shocked. Similar looks were on everyone's faces as the shadow shrugged.

"I rather like the boy, and this vote solved the problem of your arguments, but it keeps a chance for him to actually prove us wrong." He continued, standing as he gripped his staff for a bit of support. "Soon enough, we might actually want to keep him around. This is my duty, to keep the Council fair, but also to look to the future." Ultear and Siegran frowned as the shadow tapped the staff on the ground. "Meeting dismissed."

The man left the room as the rest were too shocked to move, that is until Ultear and Siegran immediately left to the separate exit. Both didn't bother looking back as they quickly entered Siegran's office. "Ignoring your blatant disregard to our agreement." He growled and glared at the Time Mage who simply shrugged in indifference, the man continued. "That old fool is more clever than I thought. The tower is almost finished, just a week more, and he is going to be in the way. Do you have anything on him that I can use?" Siegran asked Ultear rather harshly.

This drew a frown from the woman who bit her lip. "Normal childhood, normal parents, normal teachers. Some bad grades mixed with some good ones and a regular record up until he turned thirty. He disappeared for ten years before coming back and suddenly taking the political world by storm, appearing on the Council just half a year after he came back. He made Head Councilmen a year later." She started chewing on her lip in agitation.

"I looked through his past before in case I needed something on him, yet out of everyone besides Yajima, he's the most normal of any of us, bar the time he was gone." She ended, and knowing she was missing something infuriated her to no end as well as Siegran. "Great…so he's basically the model citizen." He ground out, slamming his fists onto the desk in front of him, slightly cracking the frame due to some of his magic slipping from his fingertips. "He's hiding something extremely dangerous….there has to be something that he doesn't want others to find out. Look into those missing years, I need to finish the Tower before he can figure out what I'm doing." Ultear nodded, turning to leave she glanced over her shoulder once at Siegran. "Tread carefully, just because it's Heaven doesn't mean you won't have to go through hell to get there."

She closed the door and started walking back to her own room, the most sadistic smirk on her face. "Fool…of course I know about his missing years. However, keeping you focused on this little task will help us….you'll fall, 'he' will make sure of it." She chuckled as she played with the thought of a pink-haired male surrounded in flames. It soon turned into a small laugh as she entered her door, closing it at the seals locked the room, the small laugh turning into insane laughter, like she heard the best joke in her life.

"This is going to be the best show I've ever watched." She said to herself as she sat in her chair, her legs lightly hanging over the edge of the desk. "Natsu is someone even Master Hades would be wary of…though none of them know, do they?" The thought was entertaining to her as she shook her head. "None of them do….none of them know what he is and what he is capable of." Sliding her kimono down on her back, she exposed the Grimoire Heart symbol, looking at it in a mirror. "I won't need this for much longer…once I find Zeref…everything I wished for will come true." She smiled fondly at the idea. "Then….Natsu Dragneel, you will no longer be a problem."

She frowned slightly. "You are too strong….the power of a Dragon is too dangerous, you are a threat to everyone, including my dream. No quest would kill you, no monster could destroy you…the only one who can slay you is yourself." She slipped her kimono back on properly as she looked at her hands. "Fire, the most dangerous yet beautiful of all the magic out there. However…you play with it too much, and you will eventually be burned to ashes." Ultear grinned slightly, not knowing exactly how correct on her estimation of Natsu's abilities and fate she actually was, something she would eventually regret in the future.

_**Fairy Tail:**_

Everyone was filled into the guild, seemingly relaxing from their work so far in the day to relax. No one seemed to be off on quests, bar Gildarts and Mystogun, unfortunately that meant Laxus and his team were present and looking at everyone. They didn't bother anyone though, keeping to themselves off to a corner of the work area, because much to everyone's shock Laxus and the others actually started working to help rebuild the guild. No one said anything, more to not poke at Laxus's views and pride to avoid a fight and preserve the peace, so everyone was acting normally, mostly everyone.

"I keep telling you to let me go after her, Gramps!" Gray shouted to Master Makarov, disbelief etched onto his face as he tried to argue about the need to go and 'rescue Erza before she was killed by the entire guild and Salamander'. The old man simply sighed, shaking his head and taking another sip from his mug. His day started out fantastically, his grandchild returned and started helping rebuild the guild, no fights took place, everyone was relaxed, but that all shattered rather quickly. "I keep telling YOU, Gray, that Erza is perfectly capable to handle herself and there is no danger from Reaper's Scythe, Lycus wouldn't allow anything to happen." He told Gray, for what felt like the fifth time, which was actually the eighth, for that day.

"Why can't you see that the guy almost killed her and you want them to see each other again?! Are you touched in the head, Old Man?" In an instant, the Ice-Make Mage's head was slammed into the ground, creating a large hole in the earth, the boy buried up to his shoulders. "The only one who can talk that way to him is me, squirt." Laxus growled down at Gray, lightning curling itself around his fist that he had used to slam Gray into the ground. Makarov was sporting a rather surprised look, mainly because Laxus defended his right to himself, and the other because he hated the insult to him. Gray being in a crater was nothing new, so that didn't bother him terribly, yet it made everyone else jump from their seats, besides Mira.

"He's the Guild Master, so shut your damn mouth already, you little bitch. I'm sick and tired of listening to you act like a spoiled brat." He noted the look from Makarov which suddenly made Laxus understand a bit of the irony in that statement, as well as the rest of the guild bar Gray who was currently knocked the hell out. "….MORE of a spoiled brat than me." Makarov nodded and went back to drinking as Laxus grumbled. "Scarlet is stronger than you, so she makes her own rules." At this point everyone was whispering as Mirajane suddenly went over and immediately placed her hand on Laxus's forehead, a worried expression on her face.

Said random contact caught the Lightning Mage off-guard. "What are you doing, Strauss?" He narrowed his eyes as she seemed to smile a bit more. "There, you're acting more normal now. I was worried for a second that someone either brainwashed you or replaced you with a fake." Laxus raised a brow slightly at this. "A fake? You think someone can take me down and replace me with a damn fake? Like hell, I'm too strong to be beat by any pansy around here!" This drew accepting looks from everyone, now sure that he was the same person as they went back to drinking and talking.

Mirajane remained there for a moment before smirking and reaching up suddenly. A short kiss on Laxus's cheek made the normally arrogant and proud S-class mage slightly flushed. "W-what was that for?" He hissed, and because of his broad back to the rest of the guild, the only ones who saw the little scene was Makarov, himself, and Mirajane. "For returning to that caring child that you were, even if it was for only a second." She smiled sadly for a moment as she went back to serving drinks and orders to everyone.

Makarov, setting his drink on Gray's back, looked up to Laxus with an intent expression. "Laxus…." The younger man looked down to his Grandfather, still sporting a bit of a flushed and confused face. "Thank you for helping so much….." Queue even more confusion, Laxus was having too much trouble understanding the big deal of what he just did. He beat one of his guild mates into the ground and got kissed for it as well as thanked instead of scolded and told to leave?

Coughing, Laxus frowned down to Makarov. "Old Man, are you sure Gray wasn't onto something, that you aren't touched in the head? I think you're going senile." Makarov half-heartedly glared at Laxus and hopped on top of a crate to speak more directly to Laxus. "Laxus…I know what you want." Laxus made a noise of surprise followed by a guarded expression. "Oh, and what do you think I want, Gramps? We almost never talk, what makes you think you know anything about me these days, huh?" Laxus growled out a little bit, his anger spiking suddenly when hearing that Makarov assumingly knew what he wanted.

"You want to be your own person." Was the short reply, Makarov ignoring the second question entirely as Laxus's expression changed into something unknown before flipping back to a guarded look. "What do you know?" He responded, though his tone lost the bite to it. "I know that you want to be looked at by your own deeds, by your own power and skills, and not judged off of my accomplishments." Laxus was internally wondering if he truly was so easy to read, having barely talked to his grandfather at all these last few years.

Makarov took this to continue, not letting himself stop. "I felt the same way with my father, one of the founders of Fairy Tail. I acted out and did stupid things for attention, to prove I was someone different. All I accomplished was ruining what friendships I had and chasing away any chance to do something right by the world. By the time I realized it, I was too old to make up for it and I inherited the title of the Master because the previous one realized I changed back to how I was." The old Master looked up to Laxus with an intent gaze, the rest of the guild completely unaware as to what was happening between the two.

His gaze softened slightly as he noted a slight bit of acceptance flash across Laxus's face. "Listen, give it time, and people will be going on about 'If only Makarov was as good as his grandson.' Or 'The new generation certainly outdid the old one.' Your time will come when you will have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Laxus, and I know you'll make the choice that is right, for the best for Fairy Tail." Hopping up from his crate, he patted Laxus's shoulder as he walked back to the others.

A sudden voice from behind him made him turn around and the sight nearly made him cry in joy. Laxus of all people was smiling, not grinning or smirking, but genuinely smiling. "Thanks…Gramps." Laxus went off to rejoin his team, the smile long gone and replaced by his indifferent look that made others seemingly shy away from him. Makarov stood like that for a moment before he felt a soft hand on his shoulder, looking up to Mirajane. "Master? Is something wrong? Did he tell you something?" She asked gently, gaining a small smile and shake of the head. "Actually, Mirajane, things are looking up."

The both of them started walking away, Mirajane slightly confused, Makarov happy, yet both of them forgetful of the suddenly groaning Ice-Make Mage who was pulling himself out of his head-sized hole. Gray looked around, blinking for a few moments as if to get his bearing straight. "….I must have been hearing things, Laxus just thanked Gramps…spark plug must have hit me harder than I thought." A sudden shock made him freeze as he fell, nearly charred as Laxus was glaring at him. No one paid this any attention, mainly because of the sudden commotion at the front of the guild.

A medium sized group appeared, walking towards the guild without any hesitation in their steps.

"So we're here, eh?"

_**Reaper's Scythe Group:**_

"I can not believe that you ate out their ENTIRE stock of pancake mix. What the hell are you four, garbage disposals?" Cole shouted at all of them as he held out the bill for them to look at, the four foot long list touching the ground and curling slightly from how much ink was printed on it. The four Dragon-Slayers, while originally would hit someone for that remark, already had four bumps on their head from an angry 'Old bastard' so nicely put by Natsu. Said man was standing off to the side, tears streaming down his face as he held out almost all the money in his wallet to the cashier. "My money….all my money…..they will pay."

The four shivered as they heard the threat while they continued to be scolded like children by Cole, which was rather hilarious since Natsu and Atlas, even with their heads bowed, were still taller than Cole. Rose and Jess gave pouting looks that instantly shut Cole up much to his dismay, mainly because for how rude and snobbish Jess was, her look far outclassed Rose's. The four of them snickered, which earned them all a new smack upside their heads, this time courtesy of Erza. "The four of you need to control how much you eat! Your Master can only pay for so much! Especially you Natsu, you ate half of it yourself!"

She did all of this while holding Linzy who was playing with her 'Color Magic' and likely just going about doing her childish actions. In her free hand she had a cudgel that she used to smack the four, though none of them were brave enough at that moment to say anything to her, mainly for fear of her weapon and the act of upsetting Linzy. Cole nodded in appreciation while Master Lycus appeared next to them, snickering slightly at their unfortunate situation. "I think that's payment enough, hmm? It's sad Erza isn't with Reaper's Scythe, she'd keep all of you in order." He remarked playfully, drawing an appreciative smile from Erza. "It would be quite a bit of work, but I am quite happy with Fairy Tail." Master Lycus pouted slightly.

"Are you sure I can't offer you anything to change that?" Erza looked thoughtful for a moment until Cole answered. "You could always make it a Mission and send it to Fairy Tail requesting Erza." Natsu cheered as the other three groaned at the thought, Erza nodding. "That's what I was thinking, you could hire me to be a Peacekeeper." Master Lycus grinned wickedly while looking at the five S-class mages. Cole suddenly started sweating. '_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea….that mission includes me….shit!'_ "A splendid idea! We'll look into it when we meet Makarov and your guild!" Lycus said cheerfully, starting to walk ahead of the others.

All of them groaned a little bit besides Erza and Linzy who both smiled at one another while sharing a small giggle. Linzy motioned to Natsu's shoulders as said Dragon-Slayer leaned down, setting her there like a father would his child. Using his left hand he wrapped it around her ankle to keep her secure while his right hand fell to take Erza's. This instantly got him the result he wished for, which was a blushing and suddenly stuttering Titania. '_I'll never get tired of this. I hope she never stops blushing simply by touching me.'_

The three of them kept walking as Rose smiled, taking Atlas's hand quickly and started tugging him along to catch up. "Come on, Atlas!" Same man was confused to the sudden display of affection in public but cooperated none the less. This left Cole and Jess who were staring at everyone else apparently as couples. Both of them glanced down at the other's hand to notice they were inches apart, making both of them blush crimson as blood rushed to their faces. "In your dreams, windbag." Cole spoke suddenly, drawing a snarl from Jess. "It'd be a nightmare, four-eyes."

Both slammed their foreheads together, but noting how close their lips were, suddenly became much redder than Erza's hair and jerked apart. They followed after the others in silence, though they never strayed more than a foot or two apart from one another, and on the rare occasion would accidently bump their finger-tips together, drawing new blushes and new, increased distance. The distance never held though as they migrated back to their usual position.

It was odd as they walked through town at the amount of stares they were all getting, mainly Erza, for many knew her and the fact that she was holding hands and had a kid on the man's shoulders was news. As they gathered closer, they could just make out individual groups of people sitting around and talking, though the large amount of magic in the area told the group they were all Mages, though Erza didn't need to feel the magic to know that. "Quite impressive, a few of them are rather powerful." Cole spoke from behind the group, Erza, Natsu, and Linzy having migrated to the front again.

Master Lycus nodded as he let a small smile play across his face. _'My friend….it has been a great many years since we last talked….I know you do not like some of my past decisions…but I feel that all of this makes for a fresh start.'_ Through all of this, no one seemed to notice Linzy muttering to herself while touching her own hair, all besides Master Lycus, who while day dreaming, did not miss the small magic use. His own hair returned to normal, but instead, Linzy's hair was now exactly the same color as Natsu's, Salmon-pink.

Right as they reached the front, a large amount of Fairy Tail was waiting for them and the shock at who it was and confusion as to some of the others stunned the guild. No one spoke for a moment right as everyone, including Laxus, Mirajane, Makarov, and the rest of the core members of Fairy Tail appeared at the front. Just as Erza went to speak, Linzy spoke out first, too late Reaper's Scythe and Erza noticed her hair color.

"Daddy, this is where mommy works, right?"

An awkward silence filled the air immediately as Natsu and Erza's eyes were wide with shock and fear, yet the same thought filled their heads at that exact moment.

'_WHAT IS THE COLOR OF YOUR BLOOD YOU LITTLE WITCH?!'_

**Author's Note:**

**I know for a damn good fact that NONE of you expected that last part to happen unless I had given you the small hint right before it happened with Master Lycus. **

**However, if you did expect it fully, (Which I highly doubt because Linzy came off as such a sweet young girl), congratulations! I am honestly kind of happy with this chapter, because it creates future plot points for be to exploit with things being different than canon. I promise all of you that you will enjoy what I have in the future for this story!**

**Sorry for any mistakes or spelling/grammar errors that I have in the story, English was never my best subject, I actually enjoyed History more. Anyways, I thought of spoiling all of you a little early, mainly because I had absolutely –nothing- to do for 5 hours so I figured I might as well use that time productively. That included making some salmon patties (best snack in the world, say otherwise and you lie) and writing this chapter up! **

**REVIEW PLEASE. I'M SAD WHEN I ONLY HAVE LIKE 3-5 PER CHAPTER. **

**THANKS FOR THOSE WHO CONTINUALLY DO THOUGH, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**


	18. READ AUTHOR'S NOTES:

**Author's Note:**

**READ THIS:**

**This isn't another chapter, queue disappointed sigh, it's simply the regular Author's Note that is going to be between chapters. The only reason I didn't put one between the last two chapters was because the meaning of everything came across rather clearly, so I could fit the small Author's Note into the next chapter that was going to be released. **

**Now, some of you had observations from the last chapter that I will be addressing so everyone has a clear understanding of what I am going to do in later chapters. **

**Gildarts isn't going to make an appearance for a little bit, because lord have mercy if him and Natsu got into a fight now that Natsu can actually hold his own against most people. I think the two of them had a great bond in canon, mostly because it all fit into a surrogate family kind of setting with Lisanna. **

**If any of you have been wondering where Natsu's sword has gone because of my lack of use of it recently, it is still there. I am not continually bringing it up because Natsu usually has it stored away into his own pocket dimension unless he needs it for specific fights or because he just wants to. There is a part of me that hoped some of you would bring this fact up, but I guess I never made that big of a deal about it to show its importance. In case any of you were curious, it is a named blade, (I get a few ideas from One Piece, though I claim none of their work for my own), called "Doragon" which obviously is closely called "Dragon".**

**This sword will have some important standings in the future and it will get a story to it, but I'm putting the back-stories to the rest of the Elemental Dragons first. Cole is just there, his story will be rather simple, as I'm sure you can also tell Lycas's is tied to Makarov's past. **

**Also, yes I made the head of the council a little more fair, if not sadistic, in his standings on his decisions. Who doesn't enjoy a background character making decisions and giving ideas that basically affect your future and your life? The dude is an asshole, sure, but got to give him credit where it's due. Dude is really intelligent to be put at the head of the Council, and no, it isn't Crawford. Crawford is already retired in this timeline, though he will still play future roles, I'm simply not bringing him up at the moment. It'd ruin the fun if I told you who everyone was, right?**

**So shadowy unknown Ex-Chairman is here to stay until I put his name forward. *Cackle* Ah, I always enjoy tweaking some details to my own liking, but back to some of the observations by one of my loyal readers.**

**Erza didn't know what 'love' was back then, I should have corrected myself back in the chapter. It's just Jellal was the closest person she's ever had, bordering right on love, but yes, it was still a slight 'feeling' at the time. However, she –started- that rebellion for him, even if freedom was a bonus, it was mainly for Jellal, (I think anyways), so when she found out it was all just useless and so many died for her only to be betrayed, lose her friends, and anyone she cared about, it's traumatic. Of course she's somewhat 'close' to people in Fairy Tail, but she's always been rather distant I think, keeping up an invisible armor to protect herself emotionally.**

**As she grew older, this gave her time to reflect on everything that's happened and to be able to iron some things out for future reference in case anything came up for her. Natsu came along, and being the lovable and childish idiot he is, it's hard for anyone really to not like him. If it wasn't for Lucy being there, I honestly thought NaZa was the most likely canon couple, to hell (with love) with NaLi. **

**Anyways, enough ranting on that, Erza is a bit more bold in this story because I expect her to be. Erza should be a forward person, and though she was in canon, she kept 'her' feelings mostly to herself when it came to something that brought her feelings into it.**

**Also, I figured everyone would love Linzy, she is the TRUE mastermind behind the Guild. You could say she's the most powerful in there, having all the S-class mages in her pocket if anyone were to mess with her. **

**Alas…..I hope none of you get attached to Linzy. **

**Why?**

**Keep reading my future chapters, it may or may not be what you expect.**

**Review. *Places cookies on the review page***


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